As always, I'm so grateful for all of your reviews, they mean so much to me!
I know they're not together, but I just can't write Carla and Peter without it being all fluffy!
Hope you like it, thank you for reading x
In the days following Peter's surgery, Carla remained a constant presence at his bedside, even once he had returned home. The Barlows were puzzled at her keenness to act as his carer despite their relationship having ended but said nothing, seeing how much more cheerful Peter seemed to be with her around again in spite of his dire situation. He was suffering severely with alcohol withdrawal, with frequent tremors and outbreaks of cold sweats, but Carla was there for every second of his pain. She was suffering herself with her ever-present morning sickness, having to conceal the sound of her regular retching in the bathroom with the tap on full pelt to keep the Barlows in the dark about her condition. As the following week came, Peter insisted that Carla should return to work, enjoying the excuse to spend time with her but growing increasingly concerned at how stressful caring for him on a daily basis could be. Reluctantly, she'd agreed.
She woke early on the Monday morning, again frustrated to find that her head spun with every step and the waves of nausea she experienced whenever she smelt something remotely pungent. She skipped breakfast in favor of visiting Peter before heading over to the factory, ignoring the low rumbling in the pit of her stomach. She'd never been a breakfast person, and she was adamant that eating for two wasn't going to change that fact. Satisfied that Peter was in good hands for the day with Ken, Carla made her way into work mid-morning and quickly buried herself in the mounds of paperwork that had been building up in her absence. She was keen not only to distract herself from the nausea, but also to avoid Sarah as much as possible. Though she and the younger girl had called somewhat of a truce following the incident with Adam, they weren't on as good terms as they had been prior, and the atmosphere in the office felt tense with them both inside. Unfortunately, she was unable to avoid Sarah entirely.
"Carla?" Sarah called, poking her head around the office door, clutching her phone in her hand, "I've just had Mr Levison from Hardings on the phone wanting to know if you're still good for eleven tomorrow?" Carla raised an eyebrow, glancing up from her computer.
"I thought we agreed you were going to meet with him?"
"The contract was your baby."
"I've got a lot on tomorrow. Go on; you go. It'll be good for you to get the experience, anyway," Carla said, lightly massaging her lower stomach with her thumb underneath the desk as she felt it contort for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. A waft of something tomato-based cooking in the canteen microwave had started to settle in the office through the opened door, and Carla cringed in discomfort as the stench filled her nostrils. She couldn't imagine fighting her constant sickness for the duration of an entire business meeting. Sarah frowned.
"Are you saying I need the experience more than you do?" she asked, her pitch growing higher in her clear offence.
"No, that's not what I meant. It is true though; I'm only here helping out, I'm sure you can manage… Can you shut the door, please?" Carla asked as her stomach lurched, needing the scent from the canteen to be blocked out immediately. Sarah tutted and gave a deliberate roll of her eyes, muttering something inaudible under her breath as the pushed the door shut, leaving Carla alone. Carla closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath to try to settle her stomach. She groaned as she felt her jaw start to stiffen, a telltale sign of what was to come, and leapt to her feet. She pulled open the door of the office once again, holding in her breath to avoid inhaling the smell, and quickly made her way to the toilets, not wanting to run for fear of attracting attention. She managed to lock herself in a cubicle just in time before retching anything that she had left in her stomach into the bowl.
Once she was certain that the latest bout of nausea was over, she stepped over to the sinks and checked her expression in the mirror. Her skin was pale, and she licked the tip of her finger to remove the smudges of eyeliner that had formed dark frames underneath her eyes, strands of hair sticking to the skin of her forehead. Although she didn't feel sick anymore, her head was still spinning and her hands were trembling wildly. She needed to eat something, but was trying to keep her stomach empty, not wanting to simply bring it back up again. She ran the cold tap for a few seconds and patted her wet hands across her cheeks to cool her skin without affecting her makeup any further, before forming a cup with her hands and taking a few sips of the cool liquid, gulping it down. She narrowed her eyes at her reflection.
"You look like crap," she grumbled to herself, ruining her neat parting by running her fingers through her hair. Once satisfied that she'd covered the physical signs of her sickness enough, Carla slowly started to make her way back to the office, though found that now her knees were feeling heavy and her steps were uneven. She prayed that she would make it back to her desk without collapsing. Breathing a sigh of relief, she stepped into the office and gripped onto the filing cabinet to keep herself upright, her vision suddenly blurring and causing everything in the room to double in numbers.
"Carla…?" came a quiet, concerned voice from behind her, "Are you okay…?"
"I'm fine," Carla answered quickly, glancing over her shoulder at Sarah and forcing a small, uneasy smile, "Just forgot to eat this morning."
"You need to sit down," Sarah advised her, flocking to Carla's side and helpfully taking hold of her arm.
"Honestly, I'm fine!" Carla insisted, shrugging her friend off and letting go of the filing cabinet in the process. She regretted it instantly and had to plant her feet apart to prevent herself falling. "Just a bit dizzy."
"You're really clammy…"
"Charming. Give it a rest, Sarah." She started to move towards her desk chair, but before she could reach it, a blackness overcame her vision all of a sudden and made her feel like the room around her was dropping. She quickly gripped the back of the chair and squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to keep herself on her feet. She felt Sarah's hands on her shoulders, and allowed her to guide her into her chair, unable to see to do it herself. Once safely seated, she tipped her head back and forced her eyes open, staring at the ceiling that seemed to circle above her.
"Is it your kidney?" Sarah asked, anxiously. A slow feeling of dread suddenly filled Carla's chest, and she gave a low groan.
"My meds…" she whispered to herself. She slowly lowered her head and squinted at the younger girl, who was staring back at her with concerned wide eyes. The discomfort that the lighting in the room was causing to her mimicked the sensation of a severe hangover. "I've been a bit slack with them, what with everything going on with Peter."
"Carla!" Sarah exclaimed. She quickly drew her mobile from the back pocket of her trousers. "I'm calling Johnny."
"Oh, don't do that, he'll go mad at me."
"Well, I'm calling someone! I can't just leave you in this state, so it's him or an ambulance!"
"No! No, thank you, I don't need an ambulance." Carla sighed, sliding her own mobile across the desk. "Fine, call Johnny. His number's in there, the PIN's 0912."
Carla had folded her arms across the desk in front of her and was resting the side of face against them, watching the door of the office as Johnny rushed in, a panicked expression plastered across his face.
"Carla!" he exclaimed, dashing across the office to be at her side, "I was worried I'd get here to find you on the floor! What happened?!"
"I feel a bit better now. I did tell Sarah I'd walk across the road to save you a journey, but she wouldn't let me go," Carla replied, glancing pointedly at Sarah, who was hovering nervously in the doorway behind Johnny.
"I've known you long enough to know you put a brave face on. I didn't want to risk you collapsing halfway across the street, I'd rather Johnny made the call to walk you home without being seen by an ambulance."
"I'm not being seen by an ambulance," Carla groaned, turning her attention back to Johnny, "I'm alright now, I just want to go and have a lie down."
"Sarah said you're not taking your meds."
"Sarah needs to learn to keep her gob shut," Carla mumbled, "I've only missed a couple of days, just… With everything going on with Peter, I've been a bit distracted."
"You can't afford to be distracted, not at the moment," Johnny said sternly, earning him a razor-sharp glare from his daughter in an attempt to silence him. He quickly elaborated his answer. "You know, with Peter's issues, last thing we need is for you to end up in hospital with a malfunctioning kidney. I'll give Dr Gaddas a call once we get you home, make sure she doesn't want to see you." Slowly, Carla rose to her feet, with Johnny quickly taking hold of her arm to assist her.
"I can walk," she assured him, her vision having cleared somewhat since her earlier incident. She carefully began to walk across the office, her eyes trained to the floor beneath her, Johnny practically glued to her side. She gave Sarah a small smile as she reached the doorway. "You've been a star, thank you." Johnny remained by his daughter's side, waiting until they were well out of the factory – and out of earshot – before he continued his lecture.
"I can't believe you'd be so stupid," he grumbled, "I thought you'd be dead protective of this baby."
"I am! I've missed two days, Johnny, it's not going to be linked to that. I've not been eating – I've been throwing up solidly for the last three days, it's going to be something to do with that," Carla explained, conscious of the ever-present pangs of hunger from within her stomach, "I just need to try to keep a slice of toast down or something."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I've barely been home, have I? I'm spending most of my time at the Barlows' these days."
"Well, I'll give Peter a call once we're home, he can come-"
"No!" Carla interrupted quickly, "No, don't call Peter. He's got enough on his plate, he doesn't need to be worrying about me on top of everything, it'll set him off again."
"Carla…" Johnny sighed in exasperation.
"I mean it, Johnny. I don't want him to know anything."
Johnny had set Carla up a makeshift bed on the living room sofa, as Carla had insisted that she didn't want to spend yet another day locked away in her bedroom. Whilst he was doing so, she'd taken the opportunity to reveal her big secret to Jenny, who had strictly promised to refrain from touching a drop of alcohol in the coming weeks to avoid risking spilling the news to all and sundry. She'd then settled herself under her duvet with some daytime television and a mug of coffee, despite Johnny's protestations that she should be avoiding caffeine. She heard Johnny's low mumblings through the crack of the living room door, guessing that he was on the phone. He sounded stressed. Minutes later, he slipped into the room and closed the door behind him.
"How are you feeling, love?" he asked, hovering by the end of the sofa.
"Better now I'm lying down and don't feel like I'm on a waltzer anymore," Carla admitted, propping herself up with a pillow behind her, "Who was that on the phone."
"Dr Gaddas. She said you should have seen her long before now, what with your immunosuppressants and everything."
"I were meant to, I had an appointment booked last week but cancelled it with all the Peter stuff going on."
"Well, she's happy that she doesn't need to see you today and said to just see how you go, but I've booked you an appointment for early next week so she can review your meds. She's checked the ones you're on and said they're fine to take during pregnancy, but she wants to give you a proper look over and make sure everything's okay." Johnny sighed, perching on the arm of the sofa and giving her a stern look. "You can't let what's going on with Peter make you more careless. I know you're worried about him, but you need to be putting you and that little one first. Dr Gaddas said there's even more risks this time 'round with it being a geriatric pregnancy." Carla cringed.
"Brutual," she joked, "But you're right. Peter's just going through a lot at the moment and I want to be there for him. It'll be easier when everyone knows about the baby, it's hard hiding it from the Barlows when I'm doing all but sleep there, but then I suppose that'll throw up a whole world of problems in itself."
"Just be careful. I know you love him, but Peter has family to help him; you're the only one who can look after that baby right now, and I don't-" Johnny's wise words were rudely cut off as the living room door swung open, causing both of them to jump in surprise. Peter anxiously darted into the room, his eyes wide with panic as he laid eyes on Carla. Jenny rushed in behind him, equally worried.
"I couldn't stop him! He just barged past!" she exclaimed. Peter dropped to his knees beside Carla, instantly reaching out and cupping her face with his warm hands.
"Carla…" he breathed, looking deep into her eyes, his face still etched with concern, "I was so worried. I bumped into Sarah in the cafe and she said you'd had some funny turn in the factory, I was scared something bad had happened."
"I'm fine," Carla insisted, touched at his obvious concern for her, giving him a small, reassuring smile, "I was just a bit lightheaded, I've not been eating properly, my mind's been all over the place."
"Because of me…?" Peter asked, his face dropping. Johnny coughed awkwardly from behind them and rose to his feet, quickly making a beeline for the door, grabbing Jenny by the arm as he passed.
"We'll leave you two to it," he announced, disappearing from the room wife his wife in tow and quickly clicking the door shut behind them, leaving Carla and Peter alone. Carla looked at Peter intently, pained by the sad, guilty expression he wore.
"Don't flatter yourself," she teased lightheartedly, "Not everything's about you, Barlow. Aren't your knees going to give out down there?" Peter allowed the smile to return to his lips.
"Budge up then, Connor, let me sit down." Carla did as she was told, shuffling down the sofa and lifting her head, allowing Peter room to sit beside her before she relaxed again, resting her head in his lap. She gave a contented sigh as Peter allowed one of his hands to lightly massage the top of her head, the other coming to rest on her flat stomach. "What happened, then?"
"I told you, I just went a bit giddy," Carla replied, not wanting to let on her slip-up with her medication. Peter didn't need any further reasons to feel guilty and responsible. "I'm alright now. Johnny's going to do me some lunch. Guess this is what I get for getting myself knocked up at my age… How are you feeling?"
"Don't you worry about me."
"I do worry about you."
"Well, don't. I'm a drunken old fool who has created my own problems. I'm not having you causing any risk to our baby because of me." At his words, Carla felt a pleasant shiver course through her body, her eyes lighting up at the thought of 'our baby' growing inside her.
"You might be a 'drunken old fool', but you're a drunken old fool that our baby needs to be here," she told him, somewhat sternly. She brought her hand to lay on top of his that was positioned on the small arch of her stomach. "So you need to look after yourself, too." The pair fell into a silence that wasn't at all awkward, both of their thoughts turning to how lucky they were for such a miracle to happen to them at their age, and the happy thoughts of what their new lives would be like providing they were both careful and did everything they could to keep themselves healthy. For their baby's sake.