Test day was today and Carla was nervous she was sure that her nerves were rubbing off on Ivy and that was something she didn't want to inflict on her daughter. They couldnt do a normal DNA test because of the possible father sharing the same DNA so the only option was blood which she wasn't looking forward to considering Ivy and how small she was; all she wanted to do was protect her daughter. Peter offered to give her a lift and she accepted knowing she doesn't have a car yet, she spent the week informing both Sarah and Maria about her decision and they were forced to accept it and to be honest Carla was surprised at how supportive they were.
"Hi" Peter smiles as Carla bites her lip glancing down to Ivy who was settled in her pram "Do you want a drink before we head off, we're just waiting for Adam"
"Um ok then, coffee-"
"Black one sugar, I know" he smiles going into the kitchen and sighing "Are you nervous?"
"Very" she admits glancing down to Ivy who was still asleep "Hopefully she will sleep through it but I highly doubt it, how long do the results take?"
"A couple of weeks to a month" he smiles, she nods slowly biting her lip and taking the car seat off the frame of the pram "That's handy"
"Hm trust me, it really is, so much more flexible a real lifesaver" she smiles placing the car seat on the table and unstrapping Ivy noticing her eyes were open and she was looking at her now "Hello beautiful, did you have a good nap?" she coos picking her up and cradling her "Oh you're so happy sweetheart lets hope you stay that way eh"
"Hello!" Adam enters the room cheerily glancing to Carla who was cradling Ivy "Are we ready to go?"
"Can I just change her then we'll head off? I think she needs changing" she grimaces as Adam chuckles and nods gesturing for her to go upstairs with the changing bag "Are you ok?"
"Me?" Peter questions placing Carla's coffee on the table for her "The best I can be...at least we'll know soon eh?"
"Yeah, the truth is what matters"
It was a long journey, Ivy seemed to hate car journeys and that soon became apparent to both Adam and Peter causing Carla to constantly apologise for her daughter's cries and screams as well as trying to soothe her gently by trying dummies, tickling her feet and letting her grip onto her hand but nothing seemed to work so she just ended up giving up. They got to the private clinic which was going to be performing the test, Carla fed Ivy before she was pricked with a needle so that she would hopefully settle for the nurse who would be taking her blood. Peter and Adam went off to have their blood taken whilst Carla waited to have Ivy's blood taken.
"Carla Connor?"
"Yeah, hi" she smiles standing up and walking into the room with the nurse "This is for my daughter Ivy, I have no clue how she is going to take this"
"Try not to worry" the nurse reassures her gesturing for her to sit down on the seat "Right, we're going to take it from the back of the hand which may make her quite annoyed and unhappy, we'll just use a special numbing spray on her skin"
"Ok" Carla breathes out watching Ivy as she looks around the room tiredly "It's ok sweetheart"
"I'll be as quick as I can" the nurse smiles preparing the needle and spraying Ivy's skin which makes her cry
"Oh baby girl" Carla hushes her gently running her fingers over her hair "It's ok, it'll be over soon"
"Right" the nurse smiles preparing the needle and inserting it into Ivy's hand which makes her scream and cry "Almost done"
"Shh, it's ok baby, you dont need to cry" Carla hums gently watching as Ivy screams, the nurse removes the needle and presses a cotton wool bud against her skin and tapes it "There we go, I'm so sorry baby, I really am"
"I'll get these samples sent off to the lab for you" the nurse smiles as Carla nods placing Ivy back into the sling which she had on her body which immediately settles her, Carla leaves the room to an awaiting Adam and Peter
"Are you ok?" Peter questions with a frown glancing to Adam who just shrugs
"Yeah fine" she paints on a smile glancing down to Ivy "She was screaming through that whole thing, she hated it"
"I dont blame her" Adam states as Carla smiles slightly "Let's head back because I have to take this meeting as Imran cant do it this afternoon"
"Yeah ok" she nods biting her lip as they all leave the clinic and get into the car, all of them ready to head home
The drive home all Carla could do was stare out of the window and drown out the sound of Ivy's cries so that the sounds became unheard of. The future was something she usually thought was very bright but right now she kept letting niggling thoughts into her head at the fact that Peter was not her daughter's dad. Fear skyrocketed through her veins and it made her feel rather uneasy and uncomfortable to think that something which she had dreamt for many years come crashing down in the most realistic way instead of fantasising it in her head. The truth was the questions which evolved around the idea of Adam being Ivy's father; would they be able to come to a suitable agreement regarding her care? How would the rest of the family take it and how would she cope with all the looks and the stares from everyone around her? Right now all she could do was hope and pray that Peter was this baby's father, all she could do was get on her knees and beg that he was because she didn't know if she could survive it he wasn't as it just wouldn't be the same.
"Carla, earth to Carla?" Peter waves a hand in front of her causing her to snap out of her thoughts within an instant "You were miles away"
"Oh yeah sorry" she mumbles getting out if the car and sorting Ivy's pram out either way she places Ivy in the sling "I still sometimes think I have a case of baby brain"
"Ah I see" he smiles, she smiles back lifting the changing bag onto her shoulder "Do you want to come in for a coffee?"
"Won't your dad be in?"
"No, he's gone up to Scotland for a while, something about making the most of his life"
"Right" she nods glancing down to Ivy then back up to Peter "And you're not working?"
"Still off sick, I am meant to be taking it easy but there's only so much bed rest I can endure" he smirks, she rolls her eyes and nods allowing him to usher her into the house "Take a seat and I will get you a drink"
"Hmm ok," she smiles taking Ivy out of the sling and holding her in her arms before looking at Peter who places a mug filled with hot chocolate, squirt cream and sprinkles "Peter!"
"What?" he grins causing her to roll her eyes and laugh, "I thought you liked hot chocolates?"
"That's diabetes in a cup!" she exclaims causing Peter to chuckles and grins cheekily, which wakes Ivy in return "Now look what you've done"
"Aww she just wants to join in" Peter smirks as Carla rolls her eyes pecking Ivy on the head but that makes her cry
"She's probably hungry" Carla smiles taking Ivy out of the sling and adjusting her so she could feed, Peter pulls a face "You've seen it all before"
"It's amazing…"
"Pardon?" she scoffs jokily causing Peter to nudge her and Ivy to pull away from her breast "Look what you've done now, interrupting her feeding session"
"Sorry" he flashes her a cheeky grin causing Carla to smirk and guide Ivy towards her breast again "She's really hungry are you sure you're feeding her-"
"Oi!" she exclaims before chuckling "Her feeding habits are none of your business"
"I'm joking" he grins causing Peter to smile at her and smirk, she looks into his eyes, the eyes that once meant so much to her, the eyes which once watched over her, kept her safe and she craved it again, she craved it so much but in a way it was forbidden, so forbidden after everything she had done, he leans forward and cups her cheek and kisses her gently on the lips, a gentle brush of his lips against hers, she pulls away and bites her lip
"We should go..." she trails off glancing down to Ivy causing Peter to shake his head and grab her hand "Peter this cant happen, I'm sorry I should have stopped myself, I'm sorry"
"No dont leave," he says as Carla sighs shaking her head "I'm sorry I shouldn't have"
"It's fine, I think its best I go" she states winding Ivy and then placing her in the sling and attaching her changing bag to the pram "It's for the best Peter, I need to put her first"
"Ok" he nods causing her to sigh "Bye then"
"Bye" she gulps before leaving the house and sighing slightly, she decided she would just go back to Maria's it was better than being out right now...
Glancing down to the slumbering baby in her arms she sighed slightly in annoyance for letting Peter do that to her and letting herself kiss him and reciprocate it. She was mentally kicking herself, not for the reason Ivy had to see it but for the reason of letting her body speak instead of her mind, letting her heart speak because she knew deep in the depths of her soul that she loved Peter and that those feelings came to the surface at that moment; it was so hard and she knew it would be hard fighting it especially if Ivy turned out to be his. Carla didnt want to hurt her daughter, every day she contemplated doing another runner with her just to avoid the problem right in front of her but she knew deep down it wouldn't solve the impending situation in front of her, all she could do was stick it out. The buzzer went off causing her to sigh in annoyance as she just wanted some peace in her life just to chill with Ivy as it had been hectic since she had been back in Manchester so she answered clearly annoyed and to her surprise, it was Peter as she thought she made it very clear to him that this wasn't going to happen even if she didnt convince herself or convince him for that matter.
"We need to talk"
"Peter, nows not the time" she sighs in exasperation causing Peter to groan in annoyance "I meant what I said, we're over"
"We're not though!" he states angrily causing Carla to flinch "Sorry...sorry..." he trails off "I just want you to understand from my point of view, I love you, Carla!"
"I know that!" she cries before sighing and rubbing her head "We can't go there, we either end up hurting each other and I can't do it again Peter, I can't do that"
"I know" he walks over to her and cups her cheek, her eyes were downcast to the ground as she chewed her lip "Please let me in, let me understand"
"I can't let our toxic crazy love taint my baby, it tainted Simon I'm not letting it do that, no way" she shakes her head biting her lip trying to stop the tears from falling "I'm sorry, I can't do it, I can't do that to her, it's better that we're apart Peter you know that deep down"
"I know that deep down I will always love you" he states brushing his thumb over her cheekbone as the warm tears fall over it "Don't cry"
"I can't help it because I really love you, I always have but I can't go there again, not with Ivy now, I have to put her first" she states shakily before more tears fall, he brings her into his body to hold her "I can't do that to her Peter, I can't"
"I know" he cups the back of her head as she cries into his shoulder "I'm sorry"
"Don't apologise, it's my fault" she pulls away and looks directly into Peter's eyes before sighing "If I never slept with Adam this situation would never have happened"
"But you can look at it the other way..." he trails off even though it pained him to say it "You may not have had Ivy if you didn't sleep with Adam if he is her father"
"True" she chuckles slightly before siping the remainder of her tears from under her eyes "When did you get so flamin' logical anyway?"
"Living with my dad does that to you and maybe the genes in Adam's liver eh?"
"Yeah maybe" she breathes out sitting on the arm of the sofa and sighing "This whole thing is a mess, the more I think about it the happier I will be when I find out Ivy's paternity at least we can all move on then"
"Yeah" he smiles slightly stepping in front of her, she runs her fingers through his beard speckled with grey hairs and smiles "You will find comfort in this Carla"
"I know I will" she smiles slightly biting her lip and sighing "But for now, it's goodbye"