'What are we going to-do with you?' The woman grins, as the child grabs at her hair. 'No. Not that, monkey face.' She grins, kissing her nose, watching as the child waves her hands, motioning for her mum to get her up.

'Up.' She rolls her eyes, lifting her up out of the seat, balancing her on her hip. 'Last year's Father's Day, it was a bit rubbish, weren't it? You were only little, and mummy had baby brain. Daddy told us that he just needed us, but we can do better, can't we?'' She gets a giggle in response from the girl, which doesn't fail to put a smile on his face.

'How about, you and me, go and see Grandad Johnny? Hmm.' She grins, putting the child in the play pen she's created. 'Let me put my shoes on, and then we'll put yours on, now you can walk properly.'

'Mmmmaaammaaaa.'

'Mumma, yes.' She smiles, putting her shoes on, boots rather than full-on stilettos, before slipping some sandals on the child. 'C'mon monkey.' She manages to get halfway across the street, before being stopped.

' Carla, Dee.' The child in her arms start to wriggle, wanting to be put down, to go and see her auntie.

'Hiya, Kate.'

'You going over t' pub?'

'Yeah, Johnny's gonna help me, with her father's dad pressie?'

'Oh, that's sweet. Have you got dad anything?'

'No, I was gonna text you, but you're here now. Have you got any ideas?'

'A few, we can go half if you want?'

'Sounds perfect. And she's got him a present.' She grins, finally lowering the child to the floor. 'Dee don't run off. Hold mine, or auntie Kates, hand.' The child pouts but grasps her aunties spare hand. 'Good girl.'

'That look is all you.'

'She's a Connor alright.' She opens the door for the woman, hoisting the little girl up, just until they get into the back. She wasn't going to let her run around the pub, too many danger hazards. She's met with a sigh, unhappiness evident from the tone of voice.

'Princess.' A voice, calls, motioning for the child to be passed towards him, taking her into the back room as she starts to babble incoherently. 'How've you been?' The older two woman can't see their dad, but they can take a good guess as to the scene playing out.

'There I was, thinking it was me. Remember me, dad, your youngest daughter.'

'You've been replaced by Dee.' Carla teases, 'she's definitely going to have a princess complex.'

'I'm fully aware of this.' She laughs, 'brew?'

'G'on.' She smiles, hanging up her bag and following the noise into the kitchen.

'How have you been? I feel like I haven't seen my princess in ages, you should have brought her in yesterday. You could have brought her when you met Maria.'

'Johnny, she's thirteen months old, I'm not bringing her to the pub just for a jolly. Anyway, how are you going to cope when we go on holiday next month?'

'She could have played with me, in the back.' She rolls her eyes, sitting down next to them. She notes how he conveniently doesn't answer the question about missing her.

'You spoil her too much.' She places the bag on the sofa, 'she already has you and Peter running after her, twisting you around her little finger. She's thirteen months, what's she going to be like as she gets older?'

'I only have one granddaughter near by' he points out, 'I'm going to spoil her as much as I can.'

'G'daaaa.' She starts, looking at the man, who'd just put her on the floor. 'Uhh' she motions to the man, waving her little hands in the air.

'How can I say no to this, it's not like she can't walk.' He praises, kissing her cheek as she looks at her mum.

'Not the point, but okay.' She concedes defeat, if her dad entertains her whilst they set up, she'll let him do whatever he wants.

'What are you doing for Father's Day, besides seeing us.' She asks, getting something out of the bag, 'you know you're more than welcome at Ken's.'

'I 'ave a pub to run, darling. Come in for a drink, though. Join me on the evening shift.'

'What are you doing?'

'We've got Simon staying the night, so probably a relaxed breakfast.'

'You aren't cooking, are you?' She rolls her eyes; she'd been anticipating that snarky jibe.

'No, he'll be cooking.'

'You're letting him cook his own breakfast.'

'I can't win with you.'

'I'm just saying.' Her dad teases, 'right, what do you want me to-do?'

'Paint her feet.'

'You have to be joking.'

'Does it look like I am?' She deadpans, straightening out the cardboard she's put over the plastic sheet on the floor.

-CS-

'Dadddaaa.' A voice calls over the baby monitor, this being the child's favourite word. Kate had asked her, the other day, if she was hurt. She just laughed and said no, she wasn't. It wasn't like she could change any of that, her daughter said what she wanted.

'I think she want's you.' The woman whispers, turning to face her partner, 'she's up now.'

'What's the time?' He mumbles, as she looks at her watch.

'6:23.'

'Later than normal.' He smirks, willing to get himself up to go and see his daughter, as she makes more noise.

When he's gone, Carla brings out the small package she'd hidden in her empty makeup bag, getting out the card she'd worked so hard on with her dad and sister, from her coat, before mooching to the kitchen, where he reappears a few minutes later, with a grinning child on his hip.

'Morning my darling.' She grins, as the girl lays her head on her dad's shoulder. 'Oh, you want daddy. Don't look so smug, Peter.'

'How can I not? I have everything I ever need right here, in this flat. You, the kids. I'm the happiest man alive.'

'Really?'

'Truly.'

'You've gone soft.' He grins, as he spies the parcel on the kitchen counter. 'To daddy' he reads aloud, the card written in Carla's neat handwriting. 'Is this for me, princess?'

'Yes, Dee, tell daddy this is for him.'

'ess.' He smiles, putting her on the kitchen top.

'You really need to stop doing that, she'll fall.'

'I'm right here, I'll always catch her.' Her heart flutters, knowing it's not just a promise with her on the counter, but also one for her everyday life, a promise that he will always be there to help his daughter, his little princess.

'I know we had a bit of a rubbish one last year, meaning I forgot' she frets,

'Carla, love, you'd just had a baby, I wasn't expecting anything. I don't expect anything, being a dad is rewarding enough, I don't need stuff to prove that to me. I just have to look at her, or Simon. They remind me daily.'

'Well, either way, we did.'

'What do I open first?'

'Open the package.' She tells him, watching him neatly tear open the wrapping paper, 'you do that so nicely.' She watches as his face turns into a smile as he looks at the bear, having found one saying happy Father's Day. She'd wondered if she could use a bear saying happy 2nd Father's Day, but she wasn't sure if she could count that, whilst it was Delilah's second Father's Day, it wasn't Simons. She'd ended up just ignoring numbers and going for the classic gift.

'Mine.' A voice calls, reaching out to grab the bear, stunning her parents into silence, 'mmmm.'

'I think she wants my bear.' He laughs, holding it to his chest, watching her eyes well up. 'There you go, princess, if you want it, you have it. Now for the card.'

'I think you'll like it.'

'For a toddler, she's got beautiful handwriting.'

'Shup up.' She blushes, as he opens the envelope, pulling out a piece of homemade card, examining it. She waits with bated breath, wondering if he likes it, as he turns around to her. She can see the emotion written in his face. 'Like it?'

'Love it.'

'Just as well really, took us ages to get her to stand still for the picture.' She tells him, rubbing his back. 'And I meant every word, she said, in the card.' She whispers, playing with the back of his hair, 'you are the best dad a little girl could want, and she adores you.' She stresses, kissing him gently, as their daughter chews on the ear of the, unsuspecting, teddy bear.

'I love you, both.'

'We love you too.' She pauses, as he turns around, 'you still are cooking breakfast.' She gets a groan in response, 'you want me to cook?'

'Absolutely not. Now, princess, how about you be my sous chef?' He tells her, as she babbles to herself. 'I'll take that as a yes.'

'Dadadadaaaaa.' She laughs, as he moves her onto a different counter, still preoccupied with the blue bear.

'Peter?'

'Hmm.'

'I don't think you'll get that bear back anytime soon.'

A/N Thought's?

Also, I don't usually reply to comments on here, but I want to quickly reply to the comment a guest left me- I agree with what you said about Peter and Carla! I hope that this story will progress, so they get some serious airtime, (imo) they have become background characters over the last few months and it is really sad to see Carla having such a fall from grace. I miss the badass Carla we used to have, I understand character development and all that, but I wanted her back more to the way she was. When they said (or someone said) that this storyline was happening when she was back to her old self, I was expecting her to be something else. The more I think about your theory, the more I see it becoming a reality, something that I don't want. Like at all, they deserve happiness and Nick and Leanne need to keep to themselves...

I also love reading all your comments- it's a real shame that I can't *seem* to reply- not like you can on Wattpad (I have tons of stuff on that from a range of different fandoms- mostly Joe/Dianne if anyone else ships them….hmu) but yeah it's really sad and reading them makes my day, so please keep them up!

On another note, I'm not sure when the next update will be (maybe tomorrow, maybe later in the week) but keep hitting me with ideas, I actually have written something for every idea someone's suggested, they're just in different stages of being written, plus I am actually working on a new fic so I'm trying to juggle writing these and writing that…

Also, please someone talk to me about Queen Evelyn. I adore her and I'm trying to find a way to make her have a cameo in this!