28th May 2023
Peter dropped the bag off at the hospital that Michelle prepared for Carla the day after she was sectioned, he was given the go ahead of being able to see Carla today and it worried him because he didn't know what state she would be in, he just wanted to take her pain away but it was likely that she would be sedated still whilst they got her symptoms under control. The staff in the psychiatric unit also wanted to speak to him regarding the lead up to Carla's relapse of mental health issues as Carla was refusing to speak to them about the situation, hoping that Peter being there she would speak to him about it so they could monitor her. Isobel and Florence were doing well but Peter knew that Isobel missed her mum a lot considering Carla was her primary carer for the majority of the time after she was born so Peter had to try extra hard to bond with her but he didn't mind.
"Right Aidy, be good for Aunty 'Chelle and Steve ok?" Peter smiles as Michelle cradles Isobel in her arms giving her a bottle which she sometimes still struggled with but she was getting used to it
"I will" Aidan beams going to hug his dad as Peter ruffles his hair as he goes off to watch TV in the conservatory
"Right, send Carla our love ok? You have the photos of the twins and Aidan right?" Michelle insists as Peter nods slowly gesturing to the bag which contained some supplies for Carla, photos of Aidan, a soft blanket and some warm socks for her
"Ok, I better head off, I'll see you when I see you, look after little miss Isobel and Florence for me" Peter grins bending down to kiss Isobel's forehead as he makes the short journey to the hospital, going towards the psychiatric unit and signing in to be greeted by Ciara
"Hello Peter" Ciara smiles gesturing for him to go through the security doors
"How's she doing?" Peter questions as Ciara sighs leading him to a more private room so they could talk in private
"She's been sedated quite heavily again, but it's making her cooperate more so it's helping us out a lot, she wont talk though, she hasn't said anything since she came in and is still on the highest level of supervision" Ciara explains as Peter nods
"I brought her some more comforting things like her favourite blanket and some warm socks, I also bought some photos of Aidan, I wasn't sure about the twins in case that would set her back"
"I guess photos of Aidan would be ok, she's been sedated again this morning so she's quite tired a lethargic, she's listening to music right now as it can help sometimes with her, we still need to establish whether she was hallucinating before the birth of the twins or not so we can give her a diagnosis" Ciara explains as Peter nods handing the photos of the twins over to Ciara for her to give to Carla when she felt ready
"Right, let's go and see her" Ciara smiles leading Peter towards Carla's room , Ciara knocking gently going into the room with Peter sitting in the armchair in the corner of the room ready to supervise the meeting between Peter and Carla
"Hi darlin'" Peter smiles as Carla continues to stare straight ahead blinking every now and then, Peter pushing her hair out of her face, Carla grabbing onto his hand
"Hey" he whispers again as she shuffles back against the wall tapping the bed for him to snuggle next to her, looking for permission from Ciara, she gives a quick nod, Peter snuggling next to Carla, playing with her hair
"I brought you some more stuff" Peter explains as Carla continues to stare straight ahead, Ciara coming to sit on the end of the bed
"I have your blanket from home, some more of those fluffy socks you like…I also have some pictures of Aidan for you" Peter explains as Carla places a hand on Peter's chest in response to the photos, Ciara going into the bag to get one of the photo's handing it to Peter who shows it to Carla
"He misses you" Peter states as Carla finally looks up at him saying nothing glancing down to where she was fiddling with her hands
"Eloise, was here" Carla states as Ciara smiles, Peter looking at her
"When did Eloise start speaking to you, Carla?" Ciara questions gently as Carla looks up at Peter shaking her head gently as to indicate she didn't want to speak
"It's ok, you can speak to Ciara, she wants to help you" Peter smiles gently bringing Carla in for a hug kissing her forehead
"Was it after Isobel was born?" Ciara says choosing her words very carefully as Carla shuffles around, nodding at Peter
"Yes"
"That must've been really brave for you to tell me that Carla" Ciara smiles as tears start to fall down Carla's face Carla clutching onto Peter's shirt, Peter wiping her eyes for her
"I'm proud of you sweetheart" Peter smiles as Carla cries silently into his chest, Peter massaging her scalp as she sighs her eyes heavy with sleep and the effects of the sedative, falling asleep shortly after, Ciara beckoning Peter out of the room
"I think we can gather from this that it's most likely postpartum psychosis that Carla is experiencing" Ciara explains as Peter nods in agreement glancing back into the room where Carla was now free of the torture her mind was giving her when awake now she was sleeping
"She will get through this though, this is the second time she's been sectioned"
"I can't really justify anything at the moment until she starts responding more…as you know it's a process, and it will take time, but she'll get there with the right help" Ciara reassures him
"It's just annoying we saw signs and I could've done something" Peter sighs still feeling guilty over what happened with Carla and Isobel
"Peter don't blame yourself for what happened now why don't you go home you have three young children at home who need your attention, go home and get some rest"
"Thank you, you will make sure she's ok won't you?" Peter questions as Ciara nods, Peter ready to come face to face with the questions from Aidan about where his mum was…
"I'm back!" Peter calls through the house being greeted by Michelle who was holding Ava who was beaming up at Peter
"Hey how is she?"
"Very lethargic, tired, confused" Peter lists as Michelle sighs going into the kitchen to make a brew for him, Ava clapping her hands together
"Do they know what's wrong with her?" Michelle questions as Peter nods
"Well they haven't made it official but it looks like postpartum psychosis, a type of psychosis that happens after birth I'm guess I didn't actually ask" Peter suggests as Michelle sighs knowing that it would be a long road of recovery for Carla
"Oh Peter…she'll get through it…" Michelle says as Peter sighs
"I hope so I really do not just for me but Isobel and Florence need their mum 'Chelle" Peter cries as Steve appears with Florence in his arms
"She was fussing" Steve explains as Peter takes Florence off Steve rocking her gently
"Hey beautiful girl" Peter grins as Michelle grabs her phone to take photos of her, possible contenders for the albums they decided to put together as a family as Isobel's cries ring out through the baby monitor
"Why don't you take them both out for a walk? They could do with some fresh air?" Michelle suggests as Peter nods going upstairs to sort both the twins out
"Hey Isobel, I know you need changing" Peter grins placing Florence in one of the cots, taking Isobel to the changing table to change her, as well as putting one of the little outfits Carla bought her, a blue floral dress with white leggings, one to match the pink one that Florence was wearing, Isobel kicking her legs happily, taking both the twins out a while later
"Shall we head to see both your grandads?" Peter questions excitedly as if both the twins could respond, pushing the pram the best he could over the cobbles to knock on Ken's door being greeted by his dad
"Peter!" Ken gestures for him to push the pram through the house, parking it in the lobby, taking Isobel out who was awake and looking around at her surroundings leaving Florence to sleep
"How are you coping?" Ken questions making Peter a coffee as Peter smiles gently, Isobel cradled against his chest
"It's alright I meant they're actually really good, Aidan was a nightmare when he was a baby so this is a nice change, they're very…"
"Curious?" Ken answers watching Isobel look around the room at her surroundings taking everything in
"Yeah I guess you could say that, Michelle lies them both on the playmat with Ava and they love listening to all the sounds and flashing lights, you wouldn't think it, they're not even a month old yet and they're so into their surroundings, it's unreal really" Peter smiles as Florence begins to cry, Ken going to get, rocking her gently against his chest as well which softens her cries
"How's Carla?" Ken questions as Peter sighs
"Not good dad, she wouldn't even speak and when she did it was only one sentence, yes and no answers, she was completely confused and still thinks Eloise is still somewhere, I'm just worried about when it comes up to anniversary she's going to regress so badly it's going to be extremely difficult coming back from it"
"I'm surprised they tell her the date in there"
"I don't know if it's different from Carlisle but they to give the sense of realism to the situations people are put in sometimes it can reassure them" Peter smiles slightly as Isobel stretches her arms, Peter kissing her head as she does it
"She's strong though, she'll get through it I'm sure" Ken reassures him as Peter sighs nodding in agreement not really knowing whether he should predict that Carla was still as strong as she was
"I hope so not just for my sake, but for Flo's, Isobel's and Aidan's"