The Reveal
"Mum!" Simon screamed, running down the stairs and stopping by Leanne's feet that were resting on the stairs. Her head was on the carpeted floor and blood was beginning to seep through the fabric.
Through the misty glass window, Nick could just about see Simon, crying by Leanne. Eva was stood next to Nick, sobbing loudly.
"Simon! Simon!" Nick shouted, trying to kick the door in with his feet.
"Nick, I think I have really hurt her," Simon said, sounding terrified. His voice was shaking and so were his hands as he reached out to touch Leanne's arm.
Eva continued crying as Nick slammed into the door, creating an almighty noise. "Lea! Lea, wake up!" he screamed as the Platt's rushed out of the salon.
"Nick, what's happened?" Gail asked, looking worried with David, Kylie and Audrey.
"Leanne, she fell down the stairs!" Eva cried as Kylie put an arm around her friend.
Norris, Rita, Michelle and Sarah had all rushed out of the pub and were watching the drama unfold.
"She didn't fall Eva, Simon pushed her!" Nick yelled as everyone gasped. Gail's face fell and David tried helping Nick kick the door in.
"I'll phone an ambulance," Audrey said, pulling her phone out of her pocket just as more people started watching.
Ken, who was walking Eccles stopped and turned to Norris, "What is going on?"
"Well, it sounds like your Simon gave Leanne a good shove down the stairs and the Platt's are trying to help her." Norris said, almost enjoying delivering the gossip.
"Oh god," Ken began, "It isn't the first time he's hurt Leanne either," he muttered. Norris heard though.
"What? Has he been abusing her?" Rita and Norris questioned in unison. Ken nodded but hw felt ashamed.
"Erm, well she has fallen down the stairs and is unconscious at the bottom," Audrey started to tell the paramedic on the other end. She put the phone to her chest and asked Nick, "Is there anything else? The paramedic wants to know if she has any conditions."
David whispered, "The baby," to his brother and Nick nodded. He stopped kicking the door and turned to his Gran and the rest of his family.
"Yeah. Erm...She's pregnant," Nick said as all the other residents heard, including most of the Nazirs who had walked past.
Gail held her mouth open wide, reeling. "Oh no. It's yours, isn't it?" Gail quizzed her oldest child who nodded.
"My my, Leanne Battersby pregnant. Poor child is doomed from the word go," Norris said to Rita as Ken and Michelle pulled a face at him.
Yasmeen and Zeedan stopped Norris and the others. "Did you say Leanne is pregnant?" Yasmeen asked.
Norris bounced his head. "Yeah, it's Nick Tilsley's kid though and Simon's just booted her down the stairs!"
Yasmeen and Zeedan stood in shock, watching as Nick and David continued to try and get the door open.
"What if she loses the baby?" Eva sobbed as Kylie hugged her tighter. Audrey patted Eva on the shoulder and agreed with Kylie, "She'll be fine Eva, honest."
"Nick! Nick! She's bleeding!" Simon shouted as the blood continued to ooze from Leanne onto the floor. Nick and David battered the door harder, as Simon pleaded with his Mum.
"I am so sorry Mum, please don't die," he cried.
"I never ever meant to hurt you, I am sorry. I don't want to lose two Mum's because you're the best one I could ask for." He grabbed Leanne's hand and held it tighter just when Nick and David managed to smash the door open and the ambulance arrived.
"Oh god," David whispered, struggling to catch his breath. Leanne's face was bloodied and bruised. Despite being really hurt, she looked so delicate, so fragile and so desperate for medical attention.
"Lea," Nick said, stroking her hair as Simon watched with tears in his eyes.
"I never meant to hurt her," Simon sobbed.
"Bit late for that innit?" David said, standing in the door frame, or what was left of it anyway.
"Simon, she's having my baby." Nick spoke, his eyes firmly on Leanne as he stroked her hair gently.
"What?"
"Your Mum and I are having a baby. We were together after you attacked her in the Bistro. She is expecting my baby. Well she was anyway. Thanks to..." Nick trailed off as Simon finished his sentence.
"Me she might lose it?"
"Exactly. I can't believe you've done this to her," Nick said as David frowned. Simon had attacked Leanne in the Bistro? Flamin' hell.
"Hello?" The paramedics called, stepping into the hall.
"Over here mate," David gestured to a space in between Nick and Simon.
"What's your name love?" The paramedic asked Leanne as the other strapped her into the stretcher.
"It's Leanne. She's my... my girlfriend. I want to come with you. She's pregnant with my baby."
Nick tried to sound calm but he couldn't hide his worry, clutching Leanne's lifeless hand to soothe his fears. Don't lose the baby, he prayed in his head. The stretcher was wheeled out of the flat and taken over to the ambulance that was parked over by Streetcars.
Everyone stared and began to get upset as they saw Leanne.
After falling asleep on the couch, Carla awoke to the ringing of an ambulance and shouting from others. Rubbing her eyes, she imagined the noise to drown out eventually. Minutes had passed but the noise had not. Opening the front door to her flat and making her way downstairs, Carla braced herself for what was outside. Had the staff finally uncovered the problem with their wages?
Steeling herself, Carla walked out of the Victoria Court entrance. There, over in the distance, was Leanne being loaded into an ambulance with a tonne of what Carla could only describe as spectators.
Running as fast as she could in her black suede boots, Carla reached Michelle. She could see Nick in the ambulance with Leanne. He was clutching her hand tightly whilst everyone stared. Eva was whimpering as Kylie and Audrey hugged her and Gail remained motionless, still staring at the spot that Nick and David had found Leanne.
"Chelle? What the hell is goin' on?" Carla asked, nudging her best friend.
Michelle was focusing on Leanne but snapped out of her gaze, noticing Carla and answering her. "Hmm? Oh, she was pushed down the stairs."
"By Simon!" Norris chipped in, poking his head around Michelle who simply rolled her eyes at him.
"Simon?" Carla looked confused, just like everyone else did. Her eyes flicked over to Ken for an answer or at least a statement of 'Its not true' but she didn't get one. Instead Carla was graced with Ken's look of sadness, worry and disappointment. She didn't need to ask, she knew it was true.
"Is she alright?" Carla asked, gesturing to the ambulance that had just sped off down the street.
"She's gone off in an ambulance, what do you think?" Norris smugly answered back. This time Carla, Michelle, Rita and Ken rolled their eyes at him.
"Carla, maybe we should go for a drink. There's something else you need to know," Michelle suggested, linking arms with Carla and ushering her back to the Rovers. Despite Carla never admitting it to anyone, it hurt when someone announced they were expecting a baby and Michelle understood completely. With a drink and something to sit on maybe the blow wouldn't be as upsetting.
"Chelle, what is it?" she asked, walking along with her best friend into the pub.
Outside Leanne's flat, the crowds had gone and everyone followed Michelle back to the pub.
"Pregnant eh? With Nick's baby, that's unexpected isn't it?" Rita said as Emily appeared. They all went into the pub to discuss the new gossip.
"Eva, let's take you to the hospital to see your sister," Audrey smiled kindly.
"Are you sure?" Eva replied, her eyes glossy from all the crying she had done. After watching her sister fall so miserably, her baby had given her so much joy and now Leanne faced losing the little beam of light in the darkness.
"Oh lovey, don't be daft. Come on," Audrey led her over to the car as Gail and David followed.
"I'd like to come but Max and Lily need lookin' after," Kylie said, heading off to Max's school to collect him and Lily's nursery. She had only been going in two afternoons a week but she had loved it.
"Okay, see you later love," David said, kissing his wife before climbing in Audrey's car and going to the hospital.
The ambulance that Leanne had been in had just arrived at the hospital too. She was still out of the game but occasionally groaned to Nick about the pain.
"N..i..c..k" Leanne managed to murmur. "It hurts," she whispered, her breathing heavy and erratic just like Nick's as he was practically running to keep up with the paramedics.
"It's okay. It'll be alright. We'll be fine," Nick replied reassuringly but even he couldn't guess what would happen.
"Er Leanne Tilsley, age thirty four, fell down the stairs at her flat. She has a cut to the side of her head, bleeding and is almost seven weeks pregnant," the paramedic declared, having been told all of his information by Nick in the ambulance.
"Pregnant? Okay, we are going to need to perform a scan to ensure everything is as normal with the baby," the doctor explained, hurrying Leanne off with the other doctors to have her cut sewn up.
"And you are?" The doctor turned to Nick.
"Nick, Nick Tilsley. She's my girlfriend and erm, I am the father of the baby."
"Okay Nick, we'll need to sow up her wound first and allow her to slowly regain consciousness before we can check on your baby. Until then I suggest you sit and wait."
"Okay," Nick sighed. He had been Leanne's knight in a shining suit the rest of the time during her battles and now when she needed him the most, there was diddly-squat that he could do. It frightened him, just as it did to Simon, who faced questioning from Grandad Ken and Auntie Tracy.
"What on earth were you doing Simon? You could have killed her or even her baby!" Ken shouted, slamming his fist down on the kitchen table. Simon didn't even flinch. He'd created greater fear in a person that what his Grandad had tried to inflict on him.
"Baby?!" Tracy quizzed, looking horrified.
"Yeah, it's Nick's baby," Ken explained, turning to Tracy who remained stunned.
"So because of you poor Leanne could lose her baby? I hope you're proud of yourself." Tracy spat at her nephew.
"I didn't mean to do it, honest. It were an accident!"
"What like all the other times?" Ken said, silencing his grandson.
Simon couldn't meet the intense stares opposite him and focussed on his hands instead, fiddling with his fingers and digging his nails into the skin.
"Well I am going to have to phone Peter now," Ken began. "He needs to know about what you have done to Leanne and that you have been suspended from school."
"Please Grandad, don't!"
"No Simon! I have had enough of this! You need to stop and this seems like the only way you will learn!"
Ken stood and reached for the home phone, dialling Peter's number and listening to the ring, ring tone.
"Dad?" Peter asked as he answered. Simon's stomach felt tighter, he wanted to just escape and never come back.
"I have some bad news. Simon has been suspended from school for having a fight." Ken said as he heard a sigh on the end of the phone.
"Oh Dad, I am so disappointed in him. But why are you phoning and not Leanne? Has something happened?"
"It has actually," Ken began as Tracy went off upstairs. Ken had his back to Simon.
"Oh no. What has he done?"
"Well, even we didn't know about this but... I had no idea Peter, really. We wouldn't have let her get in so much danger if we knew." Ken trailed off, but Peter needed an explanation and fast.
"Leanne is pregnant Peter. She must have been with Nick because it's his baby. Simon attacked her earlier and pushed her down the stairs. Again, he didn't know about Nick and Leanne's baby but I don't think many people knew. "
"Oh my god. I am gonna kill him Dad."
"Peter, that's the last thing we need."
"And if Leanne and Nick lose their baby because of my child? Could you imagine how awful it would be for them? She's gone through enough lately, this is the last thing she needs."
Without Ken noticing, Simon slipped out of his chair and crept to the back door, opening the latch and darting out through the ginnel.
"What've you done?" he cried to himself, slouching down against the wall.
"Oh god, help," he sobbed, pulling his knees to his chest and crying into his school uniform.
Ken hadn't noticed as Peter continued to talk. "That's it Dad. I'm coming home."
"Peter, we can handle this."
"No, no, you can't. Leanne wouldn't be in hospital potentially miscarrying her baby. I am coming back to Weatherfield and nothing is stopping me now."
Thanks for your fantastic reviews! I just had to give you all another chapter soon! I will update very soon and we will see if Leanne's okay! Please keep reviewing and doing everything else as I really appreciate it and it means a lot to hear such lovely things!
The next chapter will carry on from this one so there will be more Leanne and Nick baby drama, Carla finding out and of course Peter too! :-)
