Los Angeles

The plan was to travel to LA. Peter suggested that they go and see Suzie for her help on the situation knowing she would know what to do. Peter managed to get Carla to a doctor in Japan, it turned out that she was very early on in her pregnancy around five weeks which gave them a lot more relief so they had time to think of a solid plan. Carla decided that she would keep the baby, Peter was with her every step of the way over her decision even if they didn't think it was right but Carla just couldn't get rid of it, it was a part of her and the man she loved.

Peter thought of the plan with Carla's input of course. It was to continuously travel stopping off in place on the way to rest and collect fuel and food before starting the journey up again. Peter was proud of Simon who stepped up once again to help Carla with the girls and he was ever so grateful for him being there. He would entertain them if Carla was feeling wiped out and he soon clicked that she was pregnant again. He had his concerns and Peter knew he would but they had an adult conversation with him and said that they weren't sure if they wanted this for themselves again and that they were going to do it because she couldn't get rid of it as it was like getting rid of one of the girls; Simon agreed.

The journey to LA was long but worth it and it took a surprisingly short time which felt like forever for all of them. It took a month and Peter was very exhausted after the journey. But when they arrived they were soon greeted by Suzie who took them back to hers in her car so they could have a coffee and have some time out on dry land.

"We really need your help actually Suz" Carla bites her lip awkwardly as Suzie hums watching the girls play on the playmat

"Really?" she frowns "You're not pregnant again are you?"

"Maybe..." Carla responds as Suzie rolls her eyes "It's literal Deja Vue"

"So let me get this straight" Suzie pauses for dramatic effect "You leave with your two-year-old to go on an around the world trip, you get pregnant, pop the baby out, you travel a bit, get pregnant again...it's like you're flamin' Mary Poppins"

"Alright" Carla exclaims as Suzie rolls her eyes "So will you help us out?"

"Of course I will" she responds as Carla smiles slightly "Come here, and congrats yeah?"

"Yeah" Carla whispers nervously accepting the hug "I guess it is" she puts on a brave face

"I'll tell you what we'll do" Suzie smiles noticing Carla was a bit anxious about things "We're going to order in your favourite takeaway then we're going to pig out on chocolate and we're going to talk things through whilst the girls are asleep"

"Sounds perfect" Carla nods as Peter kisses her on the side of her head "It's just a shock"

"Well it isn't really is it" Suzie grins "You two go at it like no tomorrow"

"Alright, we don't need a reminder of how active our sex lives are" she responds as Suzie grins "Let's just try and enjoy the rest of our day..."

Surprisingly living the high life in LA had a lot of appeal. The boat was moored in the dock and the whole family were enjoying having everything on their doorstep. Carla missed LA a lot she would never admit it though but Peter could tell so he came to a decision that they would stay until her first scan. This gave him a breather as well as her so she didn't have to worry about travelling around and transferring hospitals a lot.

The girls loved it here. They all spent evening s on the beach hiring out the barbeques which were available and bringing their own food to cook whilst they bathed in the balmy heat; obviously Carla did none of the cooking. They were both sceptical about this pregnancy, they were both walking on eggshells around it and they were both helping they would fall in love with the baby growing inside of Carla.

Today was the day of their twelve-week scan. It really would be the test to see if they could fall in love, maybe seeing the baby on screen would be a welcome insight into their future as a couple and as a family. Peter borrowed Suzie's car whilst she minded the girls to give Simon a break allowing him to take Carla to the hospital knowing her nerves were shot. They were sitting in the waiting room ready to be called in, Carla staring down the clock on the wall waiting for this agonising moment to pass; she had Peter's support that was what got her through.

"It's nice to meet you my names Lisa and I'll be conducting your scan today. Have you had one of these before?"

"Too many" Carla rolls her eyes glancing to Peter and taking his hand which he squeezes to help relieve her anxiety

"How many do you have at home?"

"Two between us, he has another son" Carla points to Peter as the midwife squeezes the gel onto her tummy and prepares the probe "We're hoping this will confirm things for us whether we do actually want another one"

"Ok, well let's begin" Lisa responds as Carla nods letting her push the probe into her tummy as Carla stares ahead nervously until Lisa turned the screen around "Here's your baby"

"Oh wow" Peter hums as Carla gulps unable to control the tears which were forming "You can't get rid of it sweetheart"

"I know I can't" she replies her eyes transfixed on the screen as Peter sighs "Is everything ok?"

"Everything's perfect" Lisa replies as Carla nods biting her lip trying to control her emotions "Baby's got a nice strong heartbeat, and is looking very comfortable"

"So we're doing this then?" Carla turns to Peter who had tears in his eyes, Carla reaching over to wipe them as Peter kisses her hand

"We're doing this" Peter nods as Carla smiles "Gosh they're going to go crazy back home"

"I know they are" Carla responds as Peter smiles watching the screen "This is our future though, we can do this"

"We can" he agrees, he didn't know if their future looked bright or bleak but either way, he was ready to live it...

So they arranged everything. After a long and truthful discussion about everything Cara decided that they best went home, Peter agreed. She wanted her family there through this pregnancy and already felt somewhat guilty over the fact that she had kept three months of it from them. They started to pack after sitting Avery down and telling her about why they needed to go back. She was excited to get a brother or sister but Peter and Carla knew that it was just a thought and that she would no doubt go through the same sibling rivalry as she did when Willow was around, but it didn't matter it was there future and the next day after the scan, Peter and Simon went shopping for more cases to pack their stuff in whilst Peter researched on getting the boat transported back to England. It was agreed that he would have to stay for a week so he suggested that Carla went back with the girls and Simon allowing him to get it sorted.

"I'm going to miss boat life" she whispers looking out over the long stretches of beach and sea "Its a shame it had to come to an end eh?"

"I guess" he hums placing his arms around her middle allowing his hands to rest on her stomach "I'll tell you something though"

"What?" she murmurs as Peter smiles kissing her on the side of the head

"We have one bright and eventful future" Petre responds as Carla nods, it would definitely be everntful "I love you, Mrs Barlow"

"I love you Mr Barlow" she responds "Let's just hope we made the right choice eh?"

"Yeah...hope"