Wow, this really has been a pleasure to write. I want to thank you all personally for all the reviews you have left, this is by far my most popular story. This is not the end of my writing though, even though I won't be doing a sequel I have a checklist of many other stories which I am planning to do whilst in lockdown and on that note I was wondering which Carter era you want me to write next as I have quite a few on that said checklist. I'm always looking for ideas as well which so if you want to give me any feel free.
Thank you all and this is not the end!
Weatherfield, Manchester
After getting their daughter home safely on the boat, and introduced to Indy they decided to think of a plan to return to England. First of all that meant naming their daughter and there were many arguments about that with Peter wanting traditional name and Carla wanting something a bit more out there and unique but hey finally found it and they registered their daughter as Avery Michelle Hayley Louisa Barlow; Carla wanting to mention everyone who meant a lot to her as well as having a nod to Aidan by mentioning his mum. After they had registered her they had to wait for a passport so they could take her on a plane and get out of Panama and they did so almost two weeks after Avery was born. Carla was enjoying life as a mum, and Peter as a dad. She was still breastfeeding Avery as she thought it was the best way forward and to bond with her but she couldn't complain that she was over the moon, dirty nappies aside. With Indy safely on the plane along with the rest of their luggage, they took the almost twelve-hour journey back home, first-class knowing that they would need the extra room with a baby. The journey was tedious but they were both happy to be heading home, even if their trip didn't go entirely to plan.
They were ecstatic that they were back on home soil when the plane touched down in Manchester Airport and couldn't wait to see everyone's faces when they entered with baby Avery who was sleeping peacefully in the sling Carla had attached to her. They grabbed some food before ordering a cab, not a StreetCars one though, no one could know they were there. The cab pulled up outside of the Bistro and Carla couldn't wait to see Michelle's face when she entered with Avery, as Peter took their luggage into Number One ready to see his dad and Simon which he felt inwardly guilty for jetting off with Carla last minute. Carla took a deep breath, Avery's changing bag on her shoulder as she opens the door to the bistro seeing Michelle behind the bar presumably stock-taking, luckily she didn't notice Carla enter.
"Could I have a glass of red and…oh a hug from my best friend?" Carla grins as Michelle turns around at the speed of light Carla thought her might head almost fall off; Michelle's eyes falling to the sling
"What the heck is that?" Michelle points to little Avery who was snuggled up in her sling as Carla chuckles slightly in response "Please tell me you didn't kidnap a baby from the airport as a gift"
"No silly…this is your niece Avery" Carla smiles as Michelle walks over gingerly to Carla and peering into the sling "And she would really like a cuddle from her Aunty"
"You never fail to surprise me" Michelle shakes her head as Carla chuckles slightly taking her out of the sling and handing her to Michelle "Oh my god, she's tiny"
"Hm, didn't feel very tiny when she was coming out of me but…yeah she weighed 5lb 9oz"
"Oh you are beautiful" Michelle gushes as Carla laughs slightly shifting onto the bar stool as Michelle holds Avery staring into her eyes as she whimpers "Ok I have a few questions-"
"Just a few?" Carla questions "I was expecting more like a thousand"
"When and where did you give birth to this little one?" Michelle questions as Carla chuckles slightly in response ready to talk about her birth
"Panama" Carla chuckles as Michelle raises an eyebrow at how Carla managed to have the guts to even give birth abroad but she guessed that if she had Peter then anything was possible
"Michelle where's the…oh Hi Carla, I didn't know you were back?" Robert questions as Carla grins watching Robert's expression change from a surprised one to a speechless one as Michelle turns around holding Avery
"Ok, you're going to have to explain…"
"Well, as you know me and Peter we got married" Carla smiles as Robert and Michelle nod, Carla handing Michelle a blanket as it was a bit nippy for Avery to be out "Well we went to Australia for our honeymoon, then we went up to Tonga where we agreed that we would start trying for a baby thinking it would take a while because of my age, we darted off to Hawaii then I came down with some mystery illness or so we thought…turns out I was pregnant with Avery"
"Wow…" Michelle trails off glancing down to Avery who was looking up at her "Then what happened?"
"Well, we went to LA and stayed with Suzy. Peter and I agreed we'd just rush back home after we knew everything was ok at the scan, on the boat, just stopping off to get fuel, then we had a scan and it turned out that I was 17 weeks instead of being earlier so she scuppered our plans which was rather nice of her. Then we were going to fly back but we really didn't want to so we did a lot of research and then made our way down to Panama stopping at Mexico briefly and stayed there for a few months until she was ready to come out"
"So what then you just flew back?" Michelle questions as Avery shifts around before stuffing her hand into her mouth; Carla grabs a dummy and gives it to her
"Pretty much, we had to register as a citizen in Panama which took a couple of weeks but after that, we were able to get her a passport and come back here"
"You have been busy" Robert observes as Carla chuckles in response; her life since giving birth had been very hectic
"Johnny's going to go crazy" Michelle laughs handing Avery back to Carla as she settles her in the sling as Carla hums in response
"I know I'm meant to be meeting-"
"Hey, love" Peter smiles as Carla chuckles as he plants a kiss on her cheek
"Speak of the devil" Carla smiles as Peter bends down to take Avery into his arms; Carla knowing that he probably missed her
"So you've met Avery then?" Peter questions as Michelle nods excitedly
"We have, she's very nice as well, proper cutie" Michelle confirms causing Peter to laugh and kiss Avery on the head ready to head off to see his dad and introduce her to his family
"Right, do not say a word that we're back ok? I don't want word getting out to the factory lot or anyone else for that matter until we've seen Johnny and Kate" Carla smiles as Robert and Michelle nod gesturing for them to go
"Let's head off" Peter smiles kissing Carla on the head then placing Avery back in the sling so she had the warmth of Carla's body to snuggle into as they leave the Rover's and go through the ginnel and into Ken's backyard
"Hmm good idea that" Carla nods as Peter opens the door letting her in; both of them thankful for the warmth considering they weren't used to Manchester temperatures yet
"Dad, we're back" Peter shouts as Carla scoops Avery out of the sling to hold her causing Ken to gasp when he saw Carla holding her
"No way…" Ken trails off as Carla grins in response, Peter putting an arm around her shoulder "Peter…"
"Look I know I should've told you but it was just too good to resist" Peter chuckles as Carla nods in agreement "Meet your granddaughter, Avery"
"Oh she is your double Carla" Ken smiles offering Avery one of his fingers as she grips onto it; Carla glancing to Peter in complete joy at the situation
"Where's Si?" Peter questions as Ken points to his bedroom which was in the front room downstairs as he goes to knock on the door, Carla following with a slumbering Avery "Si?"
"Oh hi…what the heck is that?" Simon questions as Peter bites his lip glancing to Avery "Is that yours?"
"Yes…" Peter trails off as Carla excuses herself from the situation knowing her being there probably wasn't helping the situation to join Ken in the living room
"Would you like a brew Carla?"
"Oh yeah please, decent English tea would be a welcome thing right now" Carla smiles as Ken nods flicking the kettle on as Simon appears with Peter sitting next to Carla
"Are you ok?" Carla questions to Simon who was glancing nervously at Avery "Her names Avery"
"Can I hold her?" Simon questions trying to downplay his excitement as Carla places her in his arms watching Avery as she opens her eyes to look at Simon
"Hello"
"She's very sleepy as she's just been fed" Carla smiles as Indy comes running in with her ball causing Carla to groan and kick it across the floor for her
"She looks like you" Simon smiles as Carla glances to Avery and scrunching her nose up not really seeing the resemblance
"Hmm if you say so…" Carla nudges him "I thought you'd be mad at me for having her y'know"
"I'm not, it was just a shock, now tell me everything about her"
So Carla told Simon all about his sister whilst Peter and Ken looked through their holiday snaps and by the time that was over they were ready to go and see Johnny. Peter could tell Carla nervous about seeing her father especially with Avery there in case he disapproved but she had Peter's support and that was the main thing right now. They knocked on the back door of the Rover's and Jenny appeared and gasped in the process but they silenced her before she caused too much of a scene and brought attention to them; she led both Carla and Peter into the back room and gave them a drink before deciding to join in with their little plan.
"Right I need you to get Johnny and Kate for us" Carla smiles as Jenny nods wondering how she could pull it off without them being suspicious
"Ok, I have an idea" Jenny grins as Peter narrows his eyes watching her leave the room and close the door, Carla shrugging before she started to hear Jenny screaming that there was a spider in the backroom
"Jenny just calm down!" Johnny enters the room before bringing a hand up to his mouth in shock having been greeted with Carla
"Oh my god!" Kate exclaims as Carla chuckles in response going to hug Kate as Avery was settled in Peter's arms as he tries to settle her in the kitchen
"Hello" Carla smirks as Johnny wraps her up in a hug before realising Peter wasn't there with her, Kate wanting a hug as well
"Where's Peter?"
"Right here" he beams holding Avery as Carla bites her lip watching Kate and Johnny's gaze fall onto Avery causing Carla to roll her eyes
"Gosh we should have more babies in secret if this shuts them up" Carla smiles sauntering over to Peter and resting an arm on his shoulder
"True that" Peter nods as Johnny frowns in response still speechless, Kate as well
"Say something then?"
"Well, I wasn't expecting that…" Johnny states as Kate gets up to look at Avery, Johnny following close behind "Oh my god, she looks so much like you"
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Carla grits out as Peter kisses her on the forehead knowing she thought that Avery looked more like him
"It must be in the genes" Peter replies as Carla rolls her eyes taking Avery off Peter and sitting on the sofa, Kate on one side of her and Johnny on the other
"So this is Avery" Carla smiles placing her in Johnny's arms as he gasps when she wraps her hand around his finger "She was born just over two weeks ago"
"She's amazing, another grandchild…why didn't you say?"
"You know us…like to keep you all guessing" Carla smiles tickling Avery's feet as Johnny hands her back to Carla allowing her to pass her onto Kate
"Oh my god…now you are so precious" Kate murmurs as Carla strokes Avery's head as she sleeps in Kate's arms comfortably; Avery squirming around slightly as Carla glances to Peter who winks at her
"Hmm she was born in Panama…we're going to get her registered as a British citizen though" Carla smiles taking Avery off Kate and holding her close to her chest "We also need to see Roy so it's a fleeting visit"
"So you're back for good now?" Kate questions eagerly as Carla glances to Peter who smiles at her before he glances down to Avery
"I think we are. Don't get me wrong the sense of adventure was fun but…I think that we're home now"
"Thank god for that" Johnny sighs in response "I get to watch this little one grow up"
"You do, right we're heading to Roy's, we'll head out the back"
Carla, Peter and Avery headed off to Roy's wondering the reception they would get from him and knowing that Carla valued Roy's opinion very much Peter hoped that he would go easy on her considering she left in the middle of the night without any word what so ever. Their nerves were heightened when they entered the café Shona gasping in response as Carla bites her lip trying to suppress a chuckle; Peter's arm around her middle as Avery grunts in response to the noisy setting causing Carla to rub her back throw the sling.
"Oh my…" Shona gasps as Carla giggles in response "No way"
"Yep, this is my baby before you ask, where's Roy?" Carla questions as Shona glances around before assuming he was upstairs
"Upstairs, you can go up if you want" Shona smile as Carla nods in response as both she and Peter traipse up the stairs and knock on the door waiting for an answer and then it happened, she was greeted with a shocked Roy
"Carla!" Roy exclaims as Evie begins to whimper in the sling "You had a baby?"
"Twenty questions Roy…are you going to invite us in?" Carla questions as Roy steps aside letting them both past him as they take a seat on the sofa, Carla taking Avery out of the sling "Ah, someone needs changing"
"You can use the bathroom if you want?" Roy offers as Peter takes Avery into the bathroom to change her deciding that Carla needed a chance to explain things
"I know you're probably mad with me…" Carla trails off picking at her nails as Roy sighs in response; he couldn't admit he was ok with her darting off in the middle of the night and the worry it caused but it was obvious that Carla did the right thing for her
"I was, but after seeing how happy you were when you walked in then I have appeared to have softened" Roy confirms as Carla looks up into his eyes seeing the sincerity
"I would completely understand if you were upset-"
"Carla, you did what was right for you…and that in itself is ok…you have been gifted with a daughter, someone who you looked after for months in the womb whilst you were away, someone who means the utter world to you and has brought you eternal happiness, I cannot be angry or mad with that"
"So I'm forgiven?"
"Entirely" Roy confirms as Carla sighs in relief as Peter returns with Avery handing her to Carla
"Do you want to hold her? Her names Avery" Carla smiles as Roy nods curtly allowing Carla to place Avery into his arms "She may shift around a bit"
"She looks like you…"
"Yep everyone's said that I'm still deciding whether to take it as a compliment" Carla nods in annoyance as Peter chuckles letting her lean into his side
"So I hear you got married?" Roy questions as Evie starts to whimper before letting out a cry causing Peter to take her off Roy to silence her
"We did" Carla smiles "It was so romantic, it was in Bali as you probably know"
"How old is Avery?" Roy questions wanting to gather the facts as Carla glances to her; Avery now rested on Peter's chest
"Two weeks old, she was born in Panama" Carla smiles as Roy nods intrigued at where they went "We went to an abundance of places before you ask, Europe, Australia, Indonesia, America just all over the place really, it was the time of our lives"
"Where will you be staying?"
"We'll be staying with my dad, we're going to look about getting somewhere aren't we?" Peter questions as Carla nods in response before glancing to Roy and seeing his somewhat disappointed face
"Don't worry, it won't be far away and we'll still visit" Carla reassures him as Roy smiles again Carla glancing to Avery who was starting to get fidgety "Alright sweetheart we'll get you settled"
"You can go if you want, I need to get back to Shona" Roy confirms as Carla nods glancing to Peter who picks up the changing bag
"A-Are you sure?" Carla questions "We can stay a bit longer?"
"No, it's absolutely fine, you need to do what's best for Avery" Roy nods before grabbing his apron as Carla nods running her hand over Avery's head
"Ok, well we'll see you around" Carla smiles as Roy nods gesturing for them both to leave; they headed out of the café and down the road back to Ken's using this opportunity used to talk about things
"Did he take it alright?" Peter questions as Carla shrugs not really knowing
"I guess so, mind you who knows?" Carla chuckles as they reach the front door of Number One "Do you want to know something?"
"Hmm go on then?"
"I reckon we'll be just fine, this is our future now and I think we both wouldn't want it any other way" Carla nods with a smirk as they look out over the street as Peter follows her gaze; this was definitely their home
"I reckon you summed it up in one there, love"
"And do you want to know anything else?" Carla questions as Peter raises an eyebrow wondering what she was going to come out with
"What?"
"We're home"
