Author's note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! Hmm... will Carla change her mind about keeping the puppy?

Chapter 21 - We Need To Talk About Daniel

Carla walked out of the bedroom and the puppy tripped over itself in its rush to greet her. "It's still here then," she sighed with dismay, walking straight past it, ignoring its whimpers for affection. It followed her over to the table where Peter sat munching on a slice of toast.

"I'll take her for a quick walk after this," he said with his mouth full.

"Then after that you can take it back to the puppy farm or wherever the hell you got it from."

"I thought you might've changed your mind now you've had a chance to sleep on it."

Carla nearly spat out her coffee. "Sleep?! You're kidding me, right? Fat chance of any sleep with that thing whining and scratching at the door all night. And they say babies are bad."

"Aw come on, love, let's at least give it a chance?"

"Peter, read my lips. We're not having a dog."

There was a knock at the door and Peter went to answer it. Simon appeared in his school uniform and the puppy bolted towards him. It jumped up and licked his face. Peter watched with a grin on his face. "What do you think, Si?"

"Dad, she's awesome! What's her name?"

Peter shifted awkwardly. "About that…"

"She hasn't got one."

Simon looked at Carla who sat at the table doing her makeup. He laughed. "What do you mean she hasn't got one? She needs a name!"

"I wouldn't get too attached if I were you," she warned him. "We're not keeping her."

"Aww what? Why not?"

"Because."

"Because what?" he whined.

Carla rolled her eyes at the boy's persistence. He was as bad now as he was when he was ten years old. "Because I've got a reputation for skinning puppies, not walking them once round the Red Rec."

"But you don't have to walk her. I'll walk her, every day, twice a day! Just please don't get rid of her! I've always wanted a dog."

"Then it's a good thing you've got Eccles, isn't it?"

"That's hardly the same thing. She's grandad's dog. I mean a dog of my own."

Simon looked at his dad for support but Peter simply shrugged. "I'm sorry, son. I tried my best, but it's Carla's call."

"Please, Carla. Please can we keep her? I'll never ask you for anything ever again. No video games, birthday presents, Christmas presents…"

She laughed. "Can I get that in writing?"

"You do know I was bullied last year, right?"

Carla rolled her eyes, slamming her makeup brush down. "Oh great! Now the emotional blackmail card…" She looked over at the teenager who was giving her bigger puppy dog eyes than the puppy itself, and Carla felt her resolve weakening. "Alright, here's the deal. I'll give you a week's trial. And if you do all the things you said you'll do, like walking her, feeding her, then maybe I'll consider keeping her. Sound fair?"

Simon flung his arms around her. "Thank you! You're the best! You won't regret this!"

"I already am."

Simon snatched the lead off the side. "I'll take her right now. I can do a quick walk around the block before the bus gets here."

"Not a bad idea, that," said Peter. "Let me just grab my coat and I'll come with you."

"Err, no you won't," Carla said chucked Peter a set of keys. "You can go open up and I'll come for the walk. I could do with some fresh air."

Her heels clapped along the pavement as she and Simon walked down the quiet street. The puppy led the way, pulling on the lead, its tail wagging merrily, stopping every minute or so to sniff something new.

"Did you really have to wear those shoes?"

"Yes, I did. I've got work after this." Carla spotted the dog squatting up ahead and grinned. "Oh dear, Looks like someone's doing a whoopsie. You can pick that up, can't you?"

"You're joking, right? I'm not picking that up. No way!"

Carla stopped walking. "I hope you're not forgetting our deal? You promised to walk her, feed her, this is all part of that package." She handed him a doggie bag from her pocket with a smirk. "You'll be needing this."

He snatched the bag out of her hand and muttered under his breath as he bent down to pick it up. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

Carla tried to contain herself, but it was hilarious to watch.

He dangled the bag in front of her. "There! Did it!"

"Well done, you brave boy. Now go find a bin."

"Cruella DeVil, Cruella DeVil, if she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will…"

Carla looked around for the source of the singing and spotted Rob and Tracy crossing the street. The instant Simon saw them he thrust the lead into her hand and scarpered. "Simon, where are you going? Simon!"

"That probably has something to do with me being here," Rob said.

He looked guiltily down at his feet and Tracy nudged him in an effort to cheer him up. "Don't worry babe, Simon will soon get used to you. Amy will too."

The puppy was jumping up at them and Rob knelt down to fuss it. The puppy surrendered to his charm, lying down on its back, and Rob tickled its pink belly. "Who's this then? You doing a bit of dog sitting sis?"

"Peter bought it as a surprise if you must know. It's staying the week then it's going back to wherever it came from."

Tracy cackled and nudged Rob as he stood back up. "Hey, she couldn't keep the baby so he's had to buy her a dog instead."

Tracy's laughter quickly turned into squeals of horror as she looked down and saw the dog peeing on her leather boots. "Oh my God, it's peeing on me! Rob, do something, it's peeing on me!"

"Oh dear, so it is," Carla said, trying not to laugh. She gave the lead a gentle tug and carried on down the street, praising the dog under her breath. "Good girl! You good girl!"

She passed the factory and spied Daniel coming out of the corner shop. She called after him but he didn't seem happy to stop. Still, she gave him no choice as she came strutting over. "You're committing the ultimate sin, you know, parading the streets in your pj's."

He laughed but seemed somewhat distracted. "Well, I was kind of hoping no one would see me." He nodded down at the dog jumping up at his leg. "This is new."

"Oh don't," Carla groaned. "Peter bought it as a surprise."

"I'm not really much of a dog person myself."

"Me neither," she laughed.

Daniel's beard was running wild across his face. He looked thinner than usual, paler too, and his eyes were sunken and tired as if he hadn't slept for days.

"So how have you been?" she asked. "You taking care of yourself?"

He nodded down at the plastic shopping bag in his hand. "Oh, you know, I'm soldiering on. Just nipped out to pick up some milk."

Carla looked at the red and white shopping bag and saw no evidence of milk. She did, however, see the outline of several wine bottles. She knew exactly what Daniel was up to. He had no doubt palmed Bertie onto Beth and Kirk so he could spend the day getting hammered alone in the flat.

"Where's laddo then?"

Daniel scratched the back of his neck, swaying slightly. "Oh, he's um.. he's upstairs."

"Upstairs?" It took a few seconds to truly process what he had said, then her eyes widened. "You left him on his own?!"

"Relax, the shop's downstairs, it's hardly child neglect. Now if you don't mind, I've got stuff to do."

He walked away but she chased after him. "Like what? Getting drunk on your own."

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm not blind, Daniel. I can see there's booze in the bag."

He was fumbling about with the key and when he eventually managed to get it into the lock, the door swung open and he stumbled inside, wine bottles clanging noisily in the bag. He went to shut the door but Carla stuck her foot in the doorway. "Daniel, why don't you let me up and I'll make us a brew?"

"No thank you, I just want to be left alone."

"But I don't think you should be on your own."

"And with all due respect, I don't care what you think."

He kicked her foot out of the doorway and slammed the door in her face.

The rest of that morning Carla found herself unable to concentrate. It hadn't gone unnoticed by Peter who had finally had enough of it. He slammed the booking's book shut, startling her. "Alright, enough already. What's up?"

"What makes you think something's up?"

"Because you've messed up every order you've taken, you've barely cracked a smile, and every time I look over, you're staring into space. What's going on with you? Is this about the dog?"

She rolled her eyes at the last part. "No, it's not about the dog. It's Daniel." She sighed. "I'm worried about him."

"Aren't we all?"

"I mean really worried. I saw him this morning coming out of Dev's with a bag of booze. He looked terrible."

"Love, the man's just lost his wife. I think he's entitled to a drink or two."

"And normally I'd agree. But he's got a baby to look after." She could no longer ignore the bad feeling eating away at her. "Peter, there's something not right. I can feel it."

They had spent the last ten minutes ringing the buzzer of the flat. They knew Daniel was in because they could hear music playing. Peter's patience was wearing thinner by the second as he hammered on the door. "Daniel, I know you're in there!" he shouted up at the window. "Stop ignoring me and let us up!"

Dev stuck his head around the corner. "What's with all the screaming and shouting? Some of us are trying to work, you know."

"We think Daniel's in trouble," Peter said. "You don't happen to have a spare key on you by any chance?"

Dev selected a key off the chain he had clipped to the waistband of his trousers. "Try this one. It's for the front door I think."

The key was a fit and Peter rushed inside. He raced up the stairs, Carla following behind him, and when they reached the top they saw the door to the flat already wide open.

The flat was in total darkness. All the curtains were shut and it reeked of stale cigarettes and alcohol. The only source of light came from the tv where a frozen image of Sinead looked back at them from the screen. Over the deafening roar of heavy metal, they could hear a baby crying.

Peter tore open the curtains and light flooded the flat. Dirty dishes festered on the kitchen tops, beer cans overflowed from the bin, but most alarming of all was the line of white powder on the kitchen table.

Peter turned to Carla. "Go get the baby!"

She ran into the darkened bedroom. Bertie was kicking about in his cot, screeching at the top of his lungs. She scooped him into her arms and cradled his head against her. "It's alright baby, I've got you, I've got you."

She stepped back out into the corridor and found Peter banging on the bathroom door, shouting over the blaring music. "Daniel, open up! Unlock this door!"

"Peter, kick it down! Kick it down now!"

He made her stand back then charged at the door, ramming his shoulder into it for extra force. After three attempts, it flew open and Peter rushed inside. Carla couldn't bring herself to follow. She was too afraid of finding Daniel like Aidan. She couldn't see that, not again.

Peter let out a cry that shook her to her core. "Call an ambulance!"

They had been sat in the waiting room for three agonizing hours. Peter couldn't stop fidgeting. His fingers drummed impatiently on the armrest while to the left of him Carla was bouncing Bertie on her knee in an effort to keep him entertained. A nurse approached and Peter jumped from his seat. He tried to gauge from her expression whether it was good or bad news. "Are you Mr Osbourne's family?"

Peter nodded. "What's going on? Is he alright?"

"I can take you to him now if you'd like to follow me."

The nurse went to turn away but Peter caught her arm. "So he's alright?"

"He's awake. He's been very lucky."

Peter's knees buckled. "Oh, thank God…" He threw his arms around the nurse. "Thank you! Thank you!"

They followed the nurse down the narrow corridor. She stopped outside Daniel's room, blocking the entrance. "Before I let you go in there, I'm afraid there's something I must ask you. Here at the hospital we're under no obligation to inform the authorities or Mr Osbourne's drug use. However, we are inclined to do so if we feel a child is in danger." She nodded to Bertie. "Is that Mr Osbourne's child?"

Carla answered straight away and without a flicker of uncertainty. "No. He's ours."

The nurse looked at Peter to corroborate her story and he found himself nodding along. The nurse looked satisfied and stepped aside. "In that case, you better on through."

They sat either side of Daniel. He was propped up in bed with various tubes and wires coming out of him. "What the hell were you thinking?" Peter berated him. "Taking drugs when there's a baby asleep next door?! Just what were you trying to achieve? Did you want to kill yourself, is that it?"

"That's enough," Carla snapped. She lovingly stroked Daniel's hand. "How are you feeling, kid?"

"Throat's a little sore."

Carla eyed the jug of water behind Peter. "Would you mind?"

Peter poured the jug into a plastic cup and held it to Daniel's lips. Daniel took small sips then signalled with his eyes that he'd had enough and Peter set it back down.

Daniel's eyes rolled to Bertie who was sat on Carla's lap. He reached out weakly for Bertie who latched onto his finger. In that moment it hit Daniel what he had done and he started to cry. "I'm so sorry. Daddy's so sorry."

"And so you should be," said Peter. "What would've happened if we hadn't come round, eh? You'd be dead, and Bertie? What would've happened to him? We might not have checked up on you for days! How could you be so reckless?"

"Peter, this isn't helping."

"I'm sorry, Carla, but he needs to hear this! This self-pity trip ends now! We could grass you up to social services and you wouldn't have a leg to stand on. You'd be facing time in prison and Bertie would be taken into care. You could lose him forever. Is that what you want?"

"No!"

"Then buck your ideas up. Once the hospital discharges you you're going straight to rehab. We've booked you into a clinic and you're not leaving until you've got yourself sorted."

"But what about Bertie? Who's going to look after him?"

"He'll stay with us," Peter said matter of factly.

"But he's my son. He belongs with me."

"And as you've clearly demonstrated today, you're incapable of looking after him."

"This is only temporary," Carla assured him in a soft, mothering voice. "We're thinking of what's best for you and Bertie. Daniel, we're giving you the chance to be the best dad you can be, but the fightback needs to start now."

There was a long, reluctant silence.

"Fine. I'll go to rehab. I'll do whatever it takes."

Carla walked into the flat with Bertie asleep in her arms and the puppy ran from its basket and started jumping up at her leg. She chuckled. "A baby and a puppy? How ever will we cope?"

"I'm glad you're taking all this on the chin." Peter stormed past her and grabbed a drink from the fridge, though Carla could tell he wished it was something stronger. "I'm furious at him, Carla. I really am. How could he be so stupid? He's got a baby, for Christ's sake!"

"He's depressed, grieving, missing Sinead… He made a terrible mistake."

"If you ask me, he shouldn't be allowed to look after a kid."

"What if people had said that about you after you burnt your flat down?"

"That was different."

"How?"

He grappled for an answer before admitting defeat. "Alright, maybe it wasn't, but that fire was my wake-up call. I'm telling you now, if Daniel doesn't come back from rehab a changed man then I'm calling social services myself and we're getting custody. God, I need a smoke."

He returned from the balcony half an hour later by which time Carla had changed into her pyjamas and was feeding Bertie his bottle. "That was the longest fag break known to man."

"Sorry. I just needed to clear my head." He came and sat beside her and beeped Bertie on the nose. "How's this little one doing?"

Carla beamed down at him. "Oh, he's quite happy with his bottle."

"Listen, I'm sorry for getting so angry. I just can't stop thinking about how different things could've been if we hadn't gone round there when we did. Daniel would be a goner and this little one… Well, it doesn't even bear thinking about."

"He's safe and so is Daniel. That's what matters."

Peter noticed the ball of blonde fur curled up next to her and smiled. "I thought you said the dog was banned from the sofa?"

"Yeah, well, tonight's an exception."

He nudged her playfully. "I think she's growing on you."

"Taking a leak on your sister's leg this morning certainly brought her up in my estimations."

"Don't you think it's time we gave her a name? We can't keep calling her 'it'. You got any ideas?"

"How about Whiney? Or Smelly? Both sound like good names to me."

"Simon suggested calling her Sadie. What do you think?"

"Sadie," Carla said, liking the way it rolled off her tongue. "It's got a nice ring to it, I suppose."

"That's settled then. Sadie it is." Peter was quiet for a moment as he marvelled at how bizarre it was seeing Carla with both a baby and a dog. If someone had told him five years ago that this was his future, he never would have believed it.

He started to laugh and Carla stared at him, frowning. "What's so funny?"

"Well… this. We're not even married yet and already we've got the kid and the dog. We always do things backwards, me and you."

Carla smiled and never before had she looked so beautiful. "We'll make it work. We always do, don't we?"

For a woman so used to being in control, it was nice to see her letting go of the reins and rolling with the punches for a change. Just when Peter didn't think it was possible to love her any more. "You're amazing, you know that? Amazing."

Author's note: So Daniel's off to rehab and Bertie's back with Carla, Peter and Sadie the dog. Definitely a full house! If you enjoyed, please leave a review (pretty please). And as always, thanks for reading.