'Do you think she's okay?'

'Hmm?'

'Is she too cold, is she too hot?'

'I think, love, that she would tell us if she was unhappy. I think she's content.' He whispers, listening to the sound of another baby crying nearby. 'She's been fed, she's got a clean nappy and she's sleeping.'

'She's pretty perfect, even if she's nine hours old.'

'Your dad asked if he could come and see her, I said that's okay.'

'I thought he might.' She muses, 'they'll let them on the ward, right?' Peter nods, tenderly holding her hand, stroking it gently as she smiles. In this moment she looks like a child, the apprehension evident in her eyes. 'I know that they are pretty hot on that, letting people see her, an all.'

For both of them, it's a big step. Just in different ways, he's had a newborn before, or half a newborn. From this moment on, he's raising a child. He's going to be there every step of the way, the sleepless nights, the little moments, her first day at school, her year six leavers dance. Her exams and her prom. He will be there for them, this time.

'You okay?' She asks him, barely audible, as she nods, slowly. 'It's scary, huh? A whole little baby, under us, someone that relies on us.'

'Scary, right? It's starting to feel real.' He raises an eyebrow, 'not that it hasn't felt real until now, just that it feels more real. Pushing a baby out, that made it real. It feels real, trust me.'

'She's worth it, though. She looks like you, thankfully.'

'She's going to be a daddy's girl.' She predicts, 'you can just tell.'

-CS-

'Carla.' A voice cries, making the woman turn slowly, still aching from the stitches she'd been given. 'How are you?'

'Tired.' She admits, taking a sip of the water Peter had brought her, before he'd gone home to collect some bits and pieces. He'd been reluctant but she had insisted he needs to get a few hours sleep, their world will be plunged into pandemonium the moment she is discharged.

'Is that her?' Carla rolls her eyes at her sister, who else did she think she was? The woman in the next room? 'Sorry, sorry. She's tiny, can I have a cuddle?' Carla's heart sinks, just like it does when Peter picked her up, the first time. A crippling fear of the child being dropped, before taking a sharp breath and nodding.

'Mind her head.' She points out, as her sister takes the seat next to them, Jenny and Johnny sitting the other side.

'When Peter called us, we thought something bad had happened. She's early.' She refrains from adding that they're just pointing out the obvious, she loves her family, but she's shattered, it's been a long few days. 'We were thrilled, Kate was up most of the night. A little girl, my granddaughter. I know we knew she was a baby girl, but still.'

'It's just really exciting, a new baby.'

'She's 100% a Connor.' Kate tells them, as she moves slightly in the swaddling, letting out a little yawn. 'Does she have a name?'

'We've got a few things in the running. Nothing that we are dead set on.'

'Not Kate?'

'We already have one Kate in the family, we don't need another.' She tells her sister, diplomatically. 'She'll have a name soon enough, it's what, six weeks we've got?' Jenny laughs, staring at the little girl. 'How's Peter?'

'Yeah, he's good. I insisted on sending him home, it's his first baby, too.' She explains, 'everything with Susie and he weren't there for Simon, when he was little. He wanted to stay here but we left a few things at home.'

'Dad wanted to buy a balloon, and flowers, but we weren't sure. How long do you think that you'll be in here for?'

'Tomorrow, hopefully. Truth be told, I'm sick of staring at these four walls. There's woman coming in and out all the time, each one of us having a baby. It's mad, really.' She laughs, as they play pass the baby.

'She is beautiful.' Johnny tells her, 'you're going to be such a grandad's girl.'

'No one doubts it.' Jenny laughs.

'I mean, you're her only grandma.' Carla tells her, smiling slightly at the ginger-headed woman, watching her face turn into a smile.

'Really? I'm not biologically related.' The pair had clashed in the past, but she was part of their family. A vital part of the family. It wasn't even a question that she was going to be their little baby's grandad.

'Well you're our step-mum, of course you're her grandma.'

'Of course, she is going to be spoilt.' Jenny laughs, placing her hand on Johnny's arm.

'She's quiet.' Johnny muses, 'both Kate and Aidan were squawking by this point, loud and obnoxious even as a baby.'

'She won't be quiet.' Carla predicts, 'how can she be? She's my DNA.' The hospital bay echoes with laughter.

-CS-

'So she is, actually, me little sister?' Simon asks, looking in the bassinette. 'My own flesh and blood, my real sibling.' He wonders aloud, both the adults in the bay knew that he was still hurt by Leanne's words nearly a month ago. Words hurt deeper than a knife, that had been evident.

He'd forgiven her, things going back to a relative normal, for Ollie's sake. Simon needed his mum; they'd been through so much together they had to stick together. She was his son. No matter how hard Peter had tried to deny it, Leanne was his mum. The comment, from Leanne, was offhand. It wasn't important, but he was still trying to make amends.

'Yes, son, yes she is.'

'She looks more like Carla than you, though, dad.'

'Thank God.' He teases, lifting her out of the "bed."

'Mind her- sorry.' She breathes, her heartrate accelerating. 'Automatic reflex.'

'Does she have a name?'

'No, not yet. We can't really think of one, yet. She will though.'

'You'll have to 'ave something that goes with Simon.'

'Maybe. What like Elizabeth?'

'Simon and Elizabeth?' He gets look from his girlfriend.

'Absolutely not. She doesn't look like an Elizabeth. She's also not the queen.'

'Charlotte?' Another shake, 'Mary?'

'We'll do it when we're out of hospital.' She declares, 'we've got a while. I don't want to saddle her with a name, and she doesn't suit it.'

'If you could rename yourself, would you?'

'Never really thought about it.' Peter raises his eyebrows. 'I dunno, maybe Barry. I think I'd suit that.'

'Barry Barlow.' Carla teases, 'hmm. I'm sure it's got a nice ring to it. How's Ollie?' She dares to ask, showing that it is okay to talk about him.

'Yeah, he's still alive.'

'How's ye' mum?'

'She's okay- she said congratulations about the baby.' He gently rocks the baby, smiling at her little face.

'Do you want a life home?' Peter asks, as his son gets up.

'Nah, it's okay. Mum's upstairs.'

'Oh, is he back in hospital?' Peter asks, as he nods slowly.

'Admitted last night, he ended up in status epilepticus.'

'In English, please?' Peter asks,

'it means he had a really long fit; it was terrifying.'

'I bet it was, are you okay?' Carla asks gently, as he nods.

'I'll see you soon, give Lee my love.'

'If you want a lift just text me.' He nods, hugging his dad, showing the two of them that he is feeling vulnerable.

'Oh Peter, that's so horrible.' She whispers, as Simon walks out of earshot. 'Whilst I was bringing our daughter into the world, her son was dying.'

'He didn't die.' Peter promises, sitting on the bed. 'Look, don't dwell on this. This is our time, with our little girl. That's what we have to focus on.'

'I know.' She tells him quietly, passing him the baby and smiling as he looks down on her. 'I know, but it's hard not to. Not when we're so lucky, she's beautiful and healthy, she's so wanted. But then so was Ollie and look what happened to him.'

'Carl, she's not going to get sick, not like Ollie.'

'No, I know, it's just so sad when we have something so happy when other people are suffering.'

'All we can do, my love, is look after her and love her to the best of our abilities. That needs to be our focus.'

-CS-

'Ahh, congratulations Carla.'

'Thank you, Ken.' The exhausted woman smiles, she's tired and wants to sleep, but she knows that everyone wants a cuddle with the baby, and she doesn't blame them. When a baby is born, people become inundated with messages and visitors, but all she wants to-do is sleep. She aches, so much. The stiches she was given, the whole breast-feeding malarkey, everything. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to turn them away. They were just happy, they were excited. A new baby, a new life.

'She's tiny.'

'Not as tiny as Bertie was.' Daniel points out, getting a raised eyebrow from his brother. 'He was. He wanted to come, but I wasn't sure if he was allowed too.'

'It will be lovely to see him.' She winces as she slightly shifts. 'How is he? I haven't seen him for a while.' He smirks, they hadn't met up for about ten days because Carla, quite frankly, didn't have the energy to see the hyperactive toddler she loved so much.

'How do you feel, know she's here? I remember when Bertie was born, how scary everything seemed.'

'Something like that.' She agrees, letting him take her daughter. 'She's just so little. We had Simon here today and apparently Ollies been taken ill again.'

'We heard.' Ken admits, 'we weren't sure if you wanted to know.'

'It's so sad, him being so ill, when we have a healthy baby.'

'A beautiful baby.' Ken muses, 'a little girl.'

'She's Carla's spit, eye dad?'

'I can absolutely see the resemblance, I can see some of Simon, and you Peter.'

'Really'

'Hmm, yeah. How are you feeling Peter? This is a big step for you too.'

'Overwhelmed, excited, petrified. You name it, I feel it. I know I've got an older son, but it's different. Everything about this baby is different to Simon. I'm going to be a better parent.'

'I know you are.' Ken believes this too, he believes that this baby was going to make him as a parent, Simon was a disaster. He loved him but he was reckless. And Simon had been the sufferer of that mess, both him and Carla. And Leanne, to a degree. The turbulence following the split of his parents, it was a mess. And that was putting it politely.

'She's just so perfect.'

'You look like one very proud dad.' A Scottish voice calls, another two figures walking into the bay. 'We had to sneak past security. She just wanted a day off.'

'Why doesn't that surprise me.' Peter grins, 'wanna cuddle.'

'It's fine, we won't tell anyone about the fall of the Tracy Barlow façade.' Daniel teases, 'how can you not resist a baby?'

'It's 'er baby.' She grins, 'but let me see.' She holds back any comments she might have, keeping it to herself, the baby staying asleep in her swaddling.

'She's a lovely little thing, quiet.'

'She won't be.' Tracy tries, 'not with 'er as a mother.'

'She's probably right, there I said it. I never thought that I would agree with Tracy Barlow.'

'It's the hormones.' Peter laughs, grabbing his partners hand and wondering if he did the right thing by not proposing.

-CS-

'So, this is it.' The woman whispers, standing up. 'We're bringing our baby home. It's just hit me; how big this is.' The gravity of the situation had been weighing on her mind all night. 'We're responsible for a little person.'

'It will be fine.' He tries, grabbing the baby in her carry case, he'd been practicing on how to strap the seat in for the journey home, hoping that he wouldn't mate a complete fool of himself. 'We can do this.' He whispers, as they exit the ward.

A/N thought's? Yet another question (sorry) does anyone know if Corrie is going back to 6eps a week. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we've had longer, but I miss my 6eps a week. I know EastEnders is going back to 4 shorter episodes in September….