Sorry but I'm going to spam you with updates as I want to get things moving a lot more. Here's the next chapter and thank you for the help with what I said in the previous one x
Over a month had passed and it was Peter's birthday. Carla had the best surprise for Peter's birthday, it was a copy of the request of adoption to the local council over Emma. Carla and Gail had managed to keep it a secret from everyone so far which Carla was thankful for so that it could be something they could keep between themselves for a bit as well as the need for a celebration if Peter did accept the offer.
Carla and Peter were waking up in bed together after a good night sleep together, Tilly the dog at the foot of the bed but Carla didn't mind as she had fallen quite fond of Tilly. Carla snuck out of bed and headed downstairs to prepare a birthday breakfast for Peter as well as collecting Emma on the way noticing she was sitting up in her cot from another sleepless night. Carla prepared what she could without the meal being considered as a national health hazard; it consisted of, toast, orange juice and a birthday card for Peter, she then held Emma on her hip and took the tray upstairs for Peter.
"Happy birthday!" Carla beams placing the tray down on the bedside table
"Oh thank you, love" Peter looks at the tray nervously "You even managed not to burn the toast, well done"
"Thank you" Carla scoffs sitting on the edge of the bed with Emma who was itching to get down and greet Peter "Go and see Peter then"
"Hey gorgeous" Peter murmurs as Emma smiles at him widely as he indulges in the breakfast Carla made him "This is very nice, thank you baby"
"Well it is your birthday" Carla smiles handing the card over to Peter who smiles in response and tears it open
"Thank you, love" Peter pours his lips kissing her on the lips gently as she giggles "Where's-"
"Happy birthday daddy!" Hayley screams jumping onto the bed and handing him a handmade card causing his heart to melt
"Oh that reminds me" Carla smiles lifting Emma onto her hip and rummaging around in the drawer in the bedside table on her half of the bed and pulling out a hand made card from Emma "This is from Emma, she made it at Jill's"
"Oh thank you girls" Peter smiles opening Hayley's card, Carla shrieking in the process at the amount of glitter which fell out of it "Oh, that was lovely Hayley, thank you"
"I'm glad you like it daddy" Hayley smiles before running off into her bedroom leaving Peter to open Emma's card
"Oh this is great Em, did she do it by herself?"
"I think so actually, Jill said she gripped onto the paintbrush really well" Carla grins as Emma claps her hands "Yeah you're really clever aren't you princess?"
"Hmm, she is" Peter grins poking Emma on the nose as she smiles widely "So what are the plans today then?"
"Well, we have a family meal at the bistro" Carla rolls her eyes as Peter smiles in response "I'm guessing you want to know who's going?"
"Oh please inform me" he replies sarcastically somewhat wishing he was spending the day with Carla, Hayley, Simon and Emma
"Well, we have, Ken, Simon, Leanne-"
"Leanne?" Peter questions incredulously
"Yes Leanne, Michelle, Robert, Steve, Daniel, Adam, Tracy, Amy" Carla smiles as Peter groans in response not wanting people to make a fuss "Oh come on, it's your birthday" she teases as Peter smirks at her "Plus there's plenty of more surprises in store"
"Really?" Peter looks up hopeful as Carla smiles in response
"You'll have to wait and see, go and get ready whilst I dress Emma," Carla says as Emma crawls over to her "Do you want to try and walk sweetheart?"
"She might actually do it" Peter replies as Carla smiles going into the hallway and holding Emma's arms so she was standing, Peter kneeling at the opposite side of the hallway "Let go"
"Ok" Carla sighs knowing that Emma probably wouldn't actually walk, but she was surprised, Emma took almost five steps before falling onto the floor "Oh my god!"
"She did it! Without Jill as well!" Peter exclaims lifting Emma into his arms causing a squeal as Hayley appears from the bathroom
"What's going on?" Hayley wines as Carla wipes her eyes from the tears of joy which were streaming down her face "Why's mummy crying?"
"Your sister walked for the first time!" Carla exclaims as Hayley grins "She might actually be able to go to a normal school if she improves like this!"
"I'm so proud of her!" Peter beams as Carla takes Emma into her arms and bounces her up and down "She's made so much progress with that extra therapy session"
"I know she has, she's doing so well!" Carla says confidently as Peter smiles "Anyway we need to get ready and head to the bistro"
"Ugh, do we have to" Peter whines as Carla raises an eyebrow
"Yes, because I have a surprise waiting there for you" Carla grins as Peter's eyes light up "Come on then girls lets' get ready"
A few hours later Carla and Peter were at the bistro with all their family, Carla, Peter, Michelle and Robert were sitting in a booth together with Emma whilst Hayley was entertained by Aunty Kate and Uncle Aidan. Peter was getting agitated as Carla was purposefully keeping quiet about the adoption plans, that was until Gail walked through the door, handing Peter and Carla a brown A4 envelope causing Carla to bite her lip in an attempt to contain her excitement.
"Peter" Gail smiles glancing to Carla who smirks at her handing a brown envelope over "Happy birthday"
"Ey?" Peter questions as Michelle frowns in response as well watching him tear it open to reveal another white envelope which he tears open; it was a card, it looked like it was done by a child causing Carla to frown in response as this wasn't part of the plan but she went along with it anyway as well as shooting Gail a questioning look
"Oi let us read it," Carla says as the tears fill Peter's eyes "Do you want to be my daddy?" she recites which was in the card, her heart fluttered in response, Gail was giving her permission for Emma to start calling Peter 'daddy'
"I don't get it," Peter says looking at Gail who then hands him another brown envelope which he opens which showed a copy of the request for him adopting Emma "What…?" he glances to Carla who smiles
"Oh come on, you know what" Carla nudges him as Peter laughs in response "So?"
"Yes!" Peter beams bringing Carla in for a hug as Gail smiles at her own little surprise "Thank you so much, this is the best birthday present!" he exclaims before pulling away "Gail, are you sure…about Emma calling me her dad?"
"Peter, I've had plenty of time to think about it and I reckon it's for the best, I want her to have a normal childhood" Gail smiles in awe "I've seen the way you are with her and I really do believe you will never harm her and you love her like she's your own"
"Thank you so much!" Peter grins bringing Gail in for a hug "I won't let you down"
"I know you won't, you love that little girl" Gail smiles "Anyway I must get back as I need to babysit Lily, enjoy your party"
"I can't believe you did this behind my back!" Peter chuckles bringing Carla in for a hug as she breaths in his scent "Thank you so much"
"Stop saying thank you" Carla rolls her eyes as Peter chuckles "Could we have some non-alcoholic champers 'Chelle?"
"I'll get it" Robert smiles as Carla grins
"So you're actually going to be Emma's dad then?" Michelle hums as Carla smiles "I'm made up for you both"
"This truly is going to be amazing" Carla beams as Peter grins "Just do you know I didn't actually know about Gail handing that first card over, we had an arrangement that you would only have legal responsibility for her so it was a bit of a surprise for me as well"
"Ah so it's not all down to you then?" he nudges her as Carla chuckles
"Well I put it to her over a month ago, we still have to go through the process such as getting a social worker to file a report and speak to Gail but other than that we should be good, it'll take a few months but we'll get there"
"Thank you so much, Carla, I seriously couldn't ask for more"
"Good, because in all honesty I didn't know what to get you" Carla chuckles as Peter rolls his eyes kissing her on the lips gently "Let's just get this over and done with then we can celebrate some more at home" she purrs getting up and out of her seat and sauntering over to the bar where Michelle and Robert were in a somewhat heated discussion
"Robert wait!" Michelle cries as Carla goes behind the bar "Don't start"
"Woah! I just wanted to check to see if you were ok" Carla mutters as Michelle takes her wrist and leads her into the office "Come on then, what happened"
"We were just talking about the future" Michelle mumbles picking away at her nails as Carla frowns n response "We're not even married yet and he…ugh it doesn't matter"
"Well it does to me," Carla says as Michelle groans in response "Come on, what does he want then?"
"A baby" Michelle mutters as Carla chuckles in response "I'm not joking"
"Oh…" Carla trails off; she didn't know what to say "I don't know what to say, it's a bit soon isn't it? You haven't even walked down the aisle yet"
"It was my thought, I was talking about the future and maybe he just took the opportunity to speak about how he saw his future with me, I don't know he probably meant the distant future, it's nothing to worry about and to be honest I don't want to talk about it"
"Ok, well, you know I'm always here for anything don't you? If you want to talk, rage about Robert or just want to talk about the way you feel. I'm here for you Michelle"
"Thanks, babe" Michelle smiles bringing her in for a hug "It was probably just a heat of the moment thing"
"Yeah" Carla smiles "You'll be ok, you look good together"
"Let's go and enjoy the party" Michelle smiles as Carla nods, she knew not to push it with Michelle but she definitely wanted to talk to her when everything calmed down, all she could do now was enjoy Peter's party…
The party went really well and by the end of it the girls were fast asleep leaving Peter to carry Hayley home and Carla to carry Emma home. They put the children to bed and then snuggled under the duvet together in the bedroom and watched some TV knowing they needed to have a conversation without anyone else's opinion influencing both of their decisions.
"Are you ok with adopting Emma. You can be honest you know…" Carla panics slightly as Peter chuckles in response
"Love, you seriously don't need to worry. I couldn't be happier, she can now call me daddy as well" Peter beams as Carla hums in response
"Yeah I can't wait until we can tell Jill that she can start teaching her to call you daddy" Carla smiles as Peter kisses her forehead as well as sharing the same excitement over the situation
"I noticed that heated discussion Robert and Michelle were having. They are ok aren't they?"
"Yeah, I think, well Michelle was quite dismissive but I plan on speaking to her on the hen do which is in a few weeks time" Carla replies as Peter nods "I just worry about her, that's all."
"She'll be fine. If she's anything like you she'll tell Robert off if he speaks out of line"
"Yeah I guess you're right" Carla grins as Peter runs a hand through her hair "So, have you enjoyed your birthday?"
"Yes" Peter was definite as Carla grins "There is one thing which would make it better though"
"Oh really?" she plays along noticing the change in tone, sliding her leg over his body so she was straddling him "And what's that?"
"You and me, blocking out the world, just our time to reconnect" he murmurs as Carla smiles kissing him on the lips passionately "We better move quickly though"
"Hm, why?" Carla chuckles as Peter flips her over onto her back
"Because you're playing by my rules tonight" Peter kisses her gently on the neck as she rolls her eyes
"As it's your birthday…how could I resist?"