'Now, that is one unhappy baby.' The older man points out, receiving an eyeroll in response. 'Sorry, I'm sure you already know that. Does she want to give grandad a cuddle?'

'She'll probably dribble on you.' She warns, nonetheless handing the infant over to her dad, who starts rocking her.

'I remember when Kate and Aidan were this young, they were nightmares' he sighs, gently trying to calm the baby down, 'how's she sleeping?'

'Oh, she's not.' Her mother yawns, 'or rather, she's not sleeping a lot. We're trying everything, but we've just to wait this one out.' She tells him, glumly, 'she will get all of her teeth, but it's a waiting game, yes, it is.' She adds, in the voice she uses around the little girl, who looks wholly unimpressed, watching her drool. 'Give her here, she looks like she's about to cry.' She sighs, looking at her dad's face.

'Oh, whose this?' A voice tries, coming into the living room. 'Hiya, can I have a cuddle?'

'She'll dribble on you Kate, and she's very unimpressed.' Carla warns, as the girl backs off, receiving a laugh from the duo. 'She's teething, hence the red cheeks, and the grabbing her ears.'

'Do you want a drink?' Johnny offers, watching the girl slow her actions, as her mum gently rocks her. 'Brew, maybe?'

'G 'on then.' She smiles, rubbing the baby's back, 'is she asleep, Kate?'

'Think so.' She confirms, as her mother lays her in the pram, the infant barely stirring. 'Long night was it?'

'A teething baby is not fun. She's seven months, I didn't' even realise they teeth this early.'

'It's normal.' Johnny reassures her, pouring the water in the kettle. 'She's hitting all the milestones?'

'Yeah, she's just about crawling. And rolling over, she does that.' A brief moment of silence bequeaths them. 'You better watch out, when she comes here. She's doing her upmost to move around.' Johnny chuckles in response, taking a sip of the scalding liquid. 'No, I'm glad she's doing all this. I know she has no genetic link to Oliver, but it doesn't stop me worrying. Its nice when the health care visitor tells me she's on target.'

'It must be a worry.' Johnny sighs, 'when a child is that ill, and you watch them die. It must be so hard.' Aidan appears at the forefront of all their minds, it's not the same but they are missing a vital part of their family, 'I completely understand the fear.'

'It seems so silly, but you know it is hard. If one of them mentions that he's got something else, it does make you worry.'

'It's normal, but look at her, she's happy and healthy. She's moving and making noise, I'm sure she's fine.' She does feel guilty, this is a big deal for her, and she knows it's irrational.

'How's Simon? Has he seen her?'

'Has he heck?' She rolls her eyes, 'I know it hurts Peter but what can we do it? We can't force him to see her, and, we won't. It's not fair, not when his little brother is dying.'

'How long will she sleep for?' Kate questions, desperate for a cuddle, but becoming acutely aware that this might not be the best of ideas.

'Two hours, hopefully. I'd let you give her a cuddle, but she needs this sleep, have you ever dealt with a sleep deprived baby?'

'Can't say I have.'

'You don't want to' Johnny interjects, 'they are not fun. Oh, how's the house hunting going?' His daughter hums in response, getting out her phone.

'We've put an offer on a house we like, not sure if we'll get it.'

'Oh, that's really good, do you have pictures.' She nods, going to her bag to pull out a number of different leaflets.

'There is a few we like, but this is the one we've made an offer on. We've said we'd pay five and a half grand under the asking price, it's a nice house, plenty of rooms and a garden for when she gets bigger. Cul-de-sac. But it needs some work done on it, so that's why we've not offered it. The estate agent says its been on the market months, so who knows.'

'How many bedrooms are there?'

'Three, with the potential to have a fourth. If our offer is accepted, we'll work it out then.'

'Well, if you need any help moving, this one will help.'

'Oi.' Kate grins, 'I might have plans. Why can't you?'

'I'm old. I can look after my little princess.'

'When did I stop becoming your princess?'

'You are, but she's my little princess.' He sighs, as his other daughter stands up. 'You going?'

'Stuff to-do.' She apologises, 'I might see you later, if not I'll see you tomorrow.' She yawns, 'sorry, sorry.'

-CS-

'How was your day, get a rest? I know you were up most of the night, I said I'd do it.'

'Peter, you drive for a living. I'm on maternity leave anyway. I don't need sleep, but yeah, she had a nap and I took that as my opportunity.' She grins, checking on the pasta she was cooking. 'I saw Johnny today.'

'Oh, how's he?'

'He was asking about the house hunting. I said that we'd put an offer in.'

'Have you heard anything yet.'

'No, if we don't get it, we'll just keep looking.' She reassures him, 'it would be nice for her to have a garden. You know, being a proper family with proper stuff and a clean house.' She grins, them both knowing why this is important to her. The humour she's tried to hide behind, they both know, is a façade, it's more of a dig at her mum. And Johnny. It would be everything she's never had. The family side of things, her little girl, them as a family in the house. It's comments like these that make him question why she doesn't want to get married, then they'd be the typical family. 1.9 kids and all that. It never really bothered him, until Delilah came along. Suddenly, it mattered.

'I like that one.' He muses, picking up the baby from the playpen she was currently residing in. 'Hello my little princess.'

'You know, you need to stop calling her that.'

'Why?'

'You'll give her a princess complex.' She tells him, 'you and Johnny do that, I know why you do it, but you will set her up.'

'She is a princess.' He grins, rubbing her back. 'Do you want me to feed her?' She shakes her head.

'We don't have any milk left, I've been busy and forgot to express.' She looks down guiltily, suddenly feeling bad for something that wasn't her fault, something that can be easily remedied. 'I'll feed her after dinner, she'll be fine till then, put her down and take your plate please.' He rolls his eyes, going to join her and the makeshift dinner table.

'Your cooking has got better.'

'I mean, this is pasta, but yeah. I guess, I needed to learn to cook. Plastic cover in pizza is a bit much.'

'I can't believe you did that.' He grins, between mouthfuls.

'I can't believe we've got a baby.'

'She's pretty perfect.' Peter assures her, 'she really is.'

'She's everything I didn't know I wanted.'

'I know what you mean. We're going into the New Year, as new parents.'

'Scary thought.' She smiles, 'her first Christmas.'

'She likes the lights on the tree.'

'You think?'

'She keeps staring at them.' He tells her, pointing down to his daughter as a response. 'Look at her.'

'That's so cute.' They finish eating in a companionable silence, different things on their minds, Carla thinking about the pictures she's going to take and Peter thinking about Simon. The second Christmas he was spending apart from him, not that he didn't expect it.

The rest of them would be going to the Connors, with all the extended family invited. It was going to be a good Christmas. 'This time last year, we didn't know if she was a girl or a boy.'

'We found out in two days.'

'I know you weren't sure, but I'm glad we did.'

'Me too, it made it more real.'

'She's pretty real now.' Carla grins, passing over her plate to Peter and getting their daughter, who was eager to see her, both parents knowing she's in pain.

'Does that actually work? If you feed her, does it make her feel better?' He inquires, watching his partner adjust her t-shirt so that she could start feeding the little girl. 'I read it somewhere.'

'Well she's more clinging.' She admits, as the baby starts to hungrily attack her, 'hey, calm down, you will make yourself ill.' She tells the little girl, as if she could understand. 'Or you're hurting mummy. I dread to think what she's going to be like when she has teeth.'

'You could always stop.' She shakes her head a little bit.

'I like it, it's the one thing I can still do for her, it's really weird and we know I'm hardly the sentimental type, but hey she's my baby girl. Anyway, she does have the occasional bottle.'

'She prefers you.' He grins, sitting next to her. 'Do you remember when we talked about having a baby?'

'When I said there was too much baggage?'

'Yep, and what was it you said, the smell of sick, sleepless nights and someone constantly getting at your boobs.' She laughs a little at it, smiling down at her baby. When she was young, she hadn't wanted this, but suddenly it all fell into place. After her miscarriage, she had an aching, she'd never admit to, to having a little baby. She convinced herself that, actually, it was just grief, but she knew she wanted it. She just wasn't sure she could, emotionally, go through that turmoil again.

'Well, it turns out, I will put up with it. I'll put up with it for her.'

'You're a good mum.'

'You think?'

'I know. She's happy, healthy. And you love her, that's the main thing. We're doing everything right, this time.' He promises, 'and that's what really matters. When it comes down to it, she'll, hopefully, be able to look back at it with fond memories.' He watches her well up, 'hey, hey, don't cry.' He reassures her, 'don't cry. It's all going to be okay.'

'I love you Peter Barlow.'

'I love you more, Carla Connor.'

A/N thoughts? I feel like it's been ages, but I ran out of inspiration for a bit, and then I wrote something and before I finished it, my laptop decided to delete it. Safe to say I was not happy… Oh, and I was re-watching glee, as my friend and I do every summer, and I found out Naya Rivera died and we were sad. RIP Naya.

Anyway, I have to know now who this Scott is. I'm still thinking he's to-do with her mum, or Rob. I just can't see how else he fits in. I don't think he's Carla's dad given the fact Johnny took a DNA test (plus, I want Carla to be a "proper" Connor). Maybe he's the guy that she believed was her dad? Anyway, hit me with your theories because I like reading what everyone else thinks. Oh, and I think Carla will sleep with Nick, after last nights scenes.