"What on earth was that?" Simon questions from the stairs, Peter peers over his shoulder "Are you sure you want to go out there?"

"I was thinking twice" he admits with a small smile "But I should probably mind her..."

"What's with the pineapples anyway, I still don't get it?" Simon questions as Carla appears at the stairs glaring at them both "Hi Carla...how are you?"

"Do you want some?" she questions shoving her pineapple in Simon's face, he scrunches his face up

"No thanks"

"Have some?" she says forcing it to his lips, he groans in annoyance and eats it "Do you want some more?"

"No-" Simon starts but it was too late, Carla thrusts half a pineapple in his face causing Peter to laugh "Do you not understand the meaning of no?"

"Do you not understand the meaning of me being pregnant? I'm hungry" she snaps back at him, Simon raises his eyebrows at her outburst

"Right I say we get you fed then Si can go and wash his face" Peter suggests, Simon just groans and heads upstairs allowing Peter to guide Carla over to the sofa before their appointment later...

Carla fell asleep to Peter feeding her pineapple, he rolled his eyes at her lying out on the sofa as he fed her as it wasn't like she was incapable. All she wanted was attention and he could tell that she was nervous as the last couple of days the baby had definitely dropped and she had begun waddling which Simon teased her over a lot as the baby was definitely in her pelvis. Soon they were on the way to the hospital after getting Carla motivated which took so much effort from Peter but she was dressed and ready to go, of course on the way, his dad sent a text asking for a family meal leaving him to decide what to do as it would be a pain getting Carla there and back again if they went so he made the good old kidney excuse until they were seen by her doctor.

"Hello, Carla" the doctor greets her as she sits up on the examination bench "How have you been?"

"Yeah good, she's stopped moving quite a bit as I'm guessing its quite cramped for her in there now"

"Mind if I have a feel?" the doctor asks, Carla shakes her head and smiles allowing the doctor to press down on her stomach "Definitely head down"

"Yeah, we thought that as my ribs were being battered" Carla chuckles "Do you know how big she might be?"

"Between six pounds and seven I would say" the doctor smiles, Carla nods slowly "I can feel her head in your pelvis and she's definitely engaged"

"Does that mean it might happen sooner rather than later?" Carla questions, the doctor nods "Right luckily we prepared the room weeks ago then"

"I could do an examination if thats what you want or if you want to keep it natural its completely up to you," the doctor says, Carla shakes her head

"No thanks we didnt really want examinations, they kind of creep me out" she smiles, Peter chuckles and holds her hand

"Have you had any signs of labour?" the doctor questions

"I've felt pressure like down here" she gestures to the bottom of her bump the doctor nods "Is that a good sign..."

"I'd say so, obviously it depends but she's definitely in a good position to be born naturally from what I felt"

"What other signs are there?"

"You might feel the need to go to the toilet more as the baby may press on your bowel" the doctor smiles "Contractions, backache-"

"Yeah I've had a lot of backache recently" she contemplates "I'll keep an eye out"

"As I said she's in the perfect position for a natural birth and as you're going to be giving birth at home I'd say just relax and take it easy and see what happens right now. You're going to be full-term from tomorrow so I would just go slow bounce on the ball you have and just relax go with the flow"

"Right" Carla breathes out wiping her eyes, Peter strokes her head "Sorry it's just it's been so hard to even think about being pregnant again since my miscarriage and the fact she's ok... it's crazy to think that in a few weeks we could have a baby"

"It's overwhelming, I know" he kisses her on the forehead as she smiles slightly "Is there anything I can do to relieve her pain when labour starts?"

"Just communicate and relax just listen to her and sometimes it's helpful for partners to support her body so applying heat to her back to soothe her muscles, reassurance"

"Thank you" Carla smiles slightly sliding off the bench and grabbing her coat "And Merry Christmas for next week"

Peter drove Carla home and she was sleeping in the passenger seat of the car, he glanced into the back of the car and smiled at the car seat that he installed the other day. The last couple of weeks they hadn't done much as Carla had been so tired and grouchy, he didnt want to push it with her considering everything she was about to go through. Peter was worried though about how she would cope with the whole thing emotionally and he was determined to support her through it and he just hoped that she wouldnt push him away. Eventually, he woke her up causing her to let out a cute yawn, he suggested that they did the bump cast today with the news that she could go into labour sooner than later and Carla was all for it.

"I have this old swimming costume so I'll put that on and these old leggings" she smiles as Peter nods creating the mixture for the cast

"Do you have to literally undress in front of me?"

"You've seen it all before," she says, he rolls his eyes and sits her down on the toilet seat, he dips the pieces of the cast into the solution and applies it to her bump "It's cold!"

"Yes well thats the point" he chuckles rolling his eyes and applies more cast to her tummy, Simon appears at the doorway "You can help if you want it's going to take ages"

"That looks so uncomfortable" he chuckles going to pick up a piece of cast and putting it in the solution before applying it to Carla's tummy

"She hates this" Carla giggles as Peter applies more cast much quicker now having got used to it "How long does it take to dry?"

"Not long its the fast-drying stuff" Peter smiles as Carla nods watching them both apply cast to her belly "Missed a bit"

"Here" Simon covers it over as Carla hums slightly "Maybe we could stick some along the rim to make it a smooth finish"

"Good idea," Peter says placing cast along the rim "And I think thats done love"

"Now we wait to see how peeved she gets" Carla chuckles as they sit and wait, Simon and Peter wash their hands "I think we should leave it another five mins after the time it says"

"Yep," he says sitting on the counter, Simon leans against the towel rail "Oh yeah Si your sister's engaged"

"She's not even born yet" he smirks, Peter rolls his eyes and Carla giggles slightly before raising her eyebrows

"She's trying to break free as it dries" she giggles as Peter checks the timer before it goes off "It's done I think"

"There we go" Peter smiles taking it off her, she grins at him and takes the cast into her hand "We should do some newborn photos with her in the cast after she's born"

"I wonder who she will look like" Simon smirks looking between them both, Carla shrugs and cleans her tummy off

"I reckon she'll look like Carla" Peter smiles as Carla laughs slightly shaking her head and grabbing some soap to rub her bump down and clean it from the substance that was on it

"Yeah me too" Simon grins, Carla just groans in annoyance

"Right I'm going to have a shower because I feel gross after that," she says getting up and heading into the bedroom...

Simon and Peter went back downstairs and waited for Carla to return, she was snuggled up in Peter's robe for some reason as she wanted to feel close to him, she huddled against him and he stroked her hair as they all watched the TV. Peter then made a start on dinner leaving Carla to lie on the sofa as she had fallen asleep beside him, Simon also helped with the dinner until Carla woke from her sleep and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She sat down at the table as Peter and Simon served dinner, they all ate as a family then Simon made himself scarce to the bedroom as Carla was being weird.

"Here" she chucks popcorn at him, he frowns and eats it "Uh, I'm bored and hot and it's Christmas next week and we're not prepared"

"Well we have had other things to deal with" he gestures to her bump, she groans quietly and bites her lip, "I say we make it an unconventional, untraditional Christmas"

"Oh?"

"So we order in a takeaway instead of a roast with all the trimmings"

"If I'm honest a roast sounds disgusting...the gravy eugh..." she shakes her head and grimaces, he raises his eyebrows

"Well we'll order in then"

"What about the family though? They're going to want to see us-"

"It's dealt with"

"Really?" she questions cautiously in case he was joking, he nods eagerly "How exactly...?"

"As we're officially on baby watch from tomorrow onwards I said to my dad that we would be spending our first Christmas in our new home as a family with Si"

"I feel bad now..."

"You shouldn't, I don't want to take you out baby you need to relax and prepare for the birth especially as she can come at any time"

"Yeah I guess so" she sighs biting her lip "Hopefully she comes sooner rather than later because I'm so excited to meet her so feel free to come out from tomorrow little lady"

"We should get you to bed as you look so tired baby," he says quietly, she nods slowly getting up and stretching her back "You have dropped so much Car"

"Yeah I feel it as well" she smiles as Peter stands up to place his hand on her bump and she smiles "Hopefully sooner rather than later as I'm fed up with looking like a whale"

"You're not a whale" he rolls his eyes kissing her on the lips softly "You're going to be amazing and you're going to do this for our family baby"

"Hmm we'll see what happens I guess. Now bed, I'm tired"

They got ready for bed and settled under the covers, to Peter's surprise she fell asleep so quickly so he was grateful that she didnt have a hard time drifting off. He held her close knowing it helped settle her when she was pushed up close to his body and he wanted to protect her and support her in his own way. They drifted apart during the night and Carla woke up at around three in the morning feeling rather uncomfortable so she woke Peter up and he held her hand as she pressed a hand to her forehead and bit her lip, he presses his hands to her back as she groans slightly.

"Tell me what it feels like," he says quietly, she breathes out and groans again "Carla"

"Tight," she says biting her lip

"Painful?"

"A bit, it wasn't Braxton hicks as they don't hurt," she says tiredly before going to sit on the ball, he sits on the edge of the bed and watches her "It felt like period cramps"

"A contraction then," he says, she nods slowly closing her eyes and bouncing on the ball "I'll note it down on your phone in case another happens"

"Yeah" she whispers bouncing up and down on the ball "Happy thirty-seven weeks to me eh?"

"Are you feeling better?" he asks ignoring her jest, she sighs and nods before heading into the bathroom and reappearing, she climbs back into bed "Alright try and get some sleep-wake me up if you have any more ok?"

"Sure," she says quietly as her eyes flutter shut out of tiredness, Peter settles down under the covers again and holds her to provide her with some comfort until they were both asleep again...

The next morning Carla was up at 4 am causing Peter to sigh at her bouncing on her ball, he bent down in front of her and thats when she started crying into his shoulder, he was there to support her there and he would always be there to support her. She was just upset over something, she didnt elaborate but Peter tried to make her comfortable by letting her rest her head on his shoulder as she bounced on her ball, Peter supporting her body as she just seemed so uncomfortable right now. He definitely thought the baby would make an appearance sooner rather than later with the way she was being as she was very quiet and withdrawn.

"Shh it's ok" he whispers into her head, she lets out a breath and Peter helps her bounce gently on the ball "Have you had any more contractions?"

"One," she says quietly "It wasn't that painful though and I didnt want to wake you for that"

"You should've," he says into her head as he kisses her, she continues to bounce as his phone goes off causing a light sigh from him, he reads the message

"Who?"

"Michelle," he says quietly, Carla hums and continues to bounce "She couldnt get hold of you on your phone, she was worried. She's also on the plane over to England"

"She's actually coming?" Carla questions tiredly, Peter nods "Hmm"

"Do you want to wait until she's here before you give her an update?"

"You can send a text off to pre-warn her as long as she doesn't smother me" Carla groans quietly bouncing on the ball "Come on little lady I know you want to come out"

"Sent" Peter smiles as Carla pecks him on the lips "We could always collect her from the airport get you out walking?"

"Yeah alright I'll get my clothes on" she smiles allowing Peter to help her stand up so she could grab her clothes, she heads into the bathroom dressed in her yoga leggings and a large jumper in case she needed to hide the baby "The only jumper where she doesn't show herself in"

"Hmm" he brings her in for a hug and she sighs against his body "Are you ok?"

"Yeah I'll be fine, I'll be even better if I could have some pineapple"

"Your wish is my command"

Carla ate her pineapple on the way considering the flight from Ireland didnt take that long, Peter suggested that they got a takeaway drink from the Costa that was at the airport and she agreed as she really wanted something sweet. Of course, when Michelle got off the plane Carla walked straight over to her and hugged her, Peter immediately took her bags as well and Michelle frowned taking in Carla's appearance but Carla had another contraction so she was leaning against some advertisement then of course a security guard came over and told her not to.

"Do you mind?" she snaps back, Peter rolls his eyes at Carla's outburst "I'm about to birth a flamin' baby I don't care about your crappy advertisement"

"Ok let's lead you over here," Michelle says taking Carla's hands and leading her over to a couple of seats so Peter could deal with the security guard "You didnt have to come babe if you're in labour"

"I'm not in labour" she snaps back, Michelle just takes her hand "It's just random contractions, I've only had three and they will probably stop"

"Alright keep your hair on" Michelle drones, Carla glares at her as Peter walks over with Michelle's case

"Are you ok sweetheart?" he bends down in front of her and she immediately hugs him wanting to feel him close to her

"Yeah" she nods sadly picking up the drink he was holding and drinking it "Let me go to the loo then we can head off"

"Alright," he says watching her head off, he glances to Michelle who offers him a sympathetic smile "Basically the baby's in position and she's been really uncomfortable the past day so we're officially on baby watch"

"Thanks for filling me in, I'll go gentle on her" Michelle nods with a small smile, Peter sighs drinking his drink "She'll be fine, try not to worry. She's strong"

"I know that, I'm just worried about when the baby is here, I hate to doubt her and all but if she gets ill" he shakes his head at the thought, Michelle smiles sympathetically "I'm trying to keep her spirits up"

"And thats all you can do anyway she's coming back so I say we go back to yours for a brew?"

"Yeah that sounds good" he smiles as Carla appears and hugs him "You are clingy today aren't you?"

"Mhm" she nods biting her lip and kissing him "Let's go home"

They went home and as soon as they got in Misty greeted Carla and she immediately hugged her and cuddled her on the sofa and Michelle sat with Carla who was stroking Misty. Carla started to feel quite nauseous all of a sudden so she told Peter who got her the bucket in case she was sick and he lied with her on the sofa rubbing her bump whilst they watched the TV, of course, Carla had another contraction causing her to get really annoyed and het up over the whole thing at how irregular it was so she bounced on the ball again and Peter worked through it with her with Michelle applying pressure to her back.

"Hmm" she hums against Peter's shoulder as he holds her body so she didnt fall "Thanks 'Chelle"

"No problem" she kisses her on the head, Peter helps her off the ball as she sits on the sofa again and lies between Peter's legs "Who are you staying with?"

"Johnny" she smiles as Carla nods slowly biting her lip

"Can you make me a promise?"

"Sure"

"Make sure you don't tell him you were here" she hums slightly, Michelle nods "We need as few visitors as possible"

"Thats fine, anything to help" she smiles, Carla yawns tiredly and grips onto Peter's shirt "Is the nursery finally complete?"

"Oh yeah!" Carla grins getting up and dragging Michelle up the stairs with her into the nursery "Do you like it?"

"It's lovely, very organised" she observed as Carla opens some of the drawers on the changing table to show Michelle all the outfits she had "You have been busy"

"Yep, she has loads of sleepsuits, she doesn't have any clothes if that makes sense but she has kind of like pyjama type things, leggings and tops but we're looking to get her some outfits. Also, Peter got her this dress for her new-born photos"

"How are you announcing then?" Michelle questions, Carla hums slightly and shrugs

"Not sure, we did some maternity photos" Carla beams running out of the room then returning with Simon's camera "Here, Simon took them"

"Oh those are lovely" Michelle gushes as Carla shows them to her and nods

"We were going to put together a social media thingy" Carla shrugs as Michelle nods thinking it was a good idea

"Have you perfected a name yet?"

"No not yet, we have ideas but we want to see her in person first and then we'll decide" she nods going to sit in the rocking chair, she closes her eyes

"Another one?" she questions with raised eyebrows, Carla nods opening her eyes briefly before sighing "That lasted quick"

"Yeah that was a weird one" she shrugs getting up again and turning the light off to the nursery, she heads down the stairs and returns to sit with Peter "So then how's shagging Ciaran going for you?"

"Carla" Peter groans stroking her head as she giggles, Michelle rolls her eyes

"It's a friend's with benefits type thing-"

"Yeah and I'm sure that will last long" Carla points out with a giggle, Peter nudges her playfully "Oi don't nudge me I'm carrying your child"

"Hey!" Simon enters the house and frowns at Michelle's appearance, Misty runs over to him "Didnt know you were here"

"Yeah well back for Christmas and all that" Michelle smiles as Carla grins up at Si, she immediately gets up and heads into the kitchen and steals his food

"Oi!" Simon exclaims "Dad tell her!"

"She's labouring let her have it" Peter groans as Simon glares at Carla who steals his nacho's

"Dad she's eating the whole lot-"

"I'm pregnant with your sister Si let me have them" she beams at him and eats his nachos, she also takes the packet "They taste good and she likes them so it's a win"

"Ugh!" Simon exclaims reaching into the cupboard and pulling out more crisps, he opens a packet and Carla stuffs her hand into his packet and eats his crisps "Dad!"

"Stop winding him up Carla," he says and she begins to cry and eat her crisps at the same time, they all pull faces at how funny she looked

"Carla it's not that bad" Peter calls, she chucks a crisp at him and sits down on Michelle's lap

"Do you want a crisp?" she asks but ends up stuffing crisps into Michelle's face causing her to raise her eyebrows "Michelle's being nicer to me than you Peter, she appreciates the crisps unlike you"

"Yeah you can babysit her instead of me, I'm going for a shower"

"Wuss" she calls, Carla glares at him before Simon sits down on the sofa and picks up the games console "Oh can we play those party games Si, thats fun"

"Yeah go on then," he says passing her a controller, he also passes Michelle one and starts up the game but Carla groans in annoyance and sits on the ball and bounces gently "Weird"

"Shut up Si" she snaps as Michelle bends down in front of her and holds her hand

"Breathe," she says as Carla nods tiredly allowing her to support her body for her "Is it in your back?"

"It isnt painful it's just everywhere and tight and it makes me feel rather sick" she comments gesturing for Michelle to pass her the bucket "I bet this isnt what you signed up for"

"It's better than Jenny wittering on in my ear" she comments as Carla laughs slightly before letting out a breath "Ok?"

"Yeah" she nods slowly biting her lip "I'll be fine"

"Alright then" she smiles as Peter appears from the stairs looking at Carla who was holding the bucket

"Eat too many nachos did you love?" he laughs slightly stroking her hair, she shakes her head and yawns tiredly "Why don't you go up for a nap?"

"That doesn't sound too bad you know" she smiles slightly, Peter nods slowly helping her up off the ball

"I'll head off to Johnny and Jenny's now Car" she smiles bringing her friend in for a hug "Good luck ok babe?"

"Peter can give you a lift, I'll probably just sleep and Si's here if anything happens," she says looking at Peter who nods "Go on go with him, saves you a taxi fare"

"Alright then" she smiles grabbing her bag as her cases were in Peter's car "Well let me know if you have a baby ok?"

"Yeah I will, and sorry for being so miserable" she smiles, Michelle shakes her head "Right go and take her to Johnny's Peter I'm going to sleep"

Peter took Michelle to Johnny's and then he made his way back to Carla luckily she was asleep and seemed to stay that way so he made a start on the dinner with Simon's help. He wanted Carla to have the full quota of sleep so she had energy so they ate and waited for her to wake up which she did eventually and then ate on her own but if she was honest she just couldnt deal with food right now as it made her feel rather nauseous. Peter was convinced this was labour but Carla herself wasn't entirely convinced as everything felt irregular and from what she had read labour was meant to be regular so she was very confused. They cuddled on the sofa then Peter took her ball upstairs in case she woke in the night, they got into bed and she had one last contraction before bed.

"Ok" she raises her eyebrows, Peter supports her body so she didnt fall "That hurt..."

"Did it?" he questions as she nods with a yawn, he runs his hands up and down her back "Do you reckon this is it?"

"Oh who knows, it's probably preparation isnt it?" she sighs dramatically, "It'll probably stop tomorrow knowing my luck but oh well she'll come when she wants and we will just have to facilitate that won't we?"

"You're doing so well so far" he confirms with a small smile, she nods with a smile "I love you"

"I love you too and thank you for helping with all of this, being in that position where I lean forward really helps with my back so"

"It's ok, I'm here to help you and support you and if that makes you more comfortable then so be it"

"Well thank you"

"You should try and get some more sleep," he says, she nods tiredly and gets up, she heads into the bathroom then reappears and climbs into bed with him and he holds her "Night baby"

"Good night" she mumbles into his side, he strokes her hair and it wasn't long before they both were asleep...